The Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) is the government-backed lending scheme currently available to UK businesses. It replaced the Recovery Loan Scheme on 1 July 2024, which in turn had replaced CBILS and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme in April 2021. If you have arrived here looking for CBILS or the Recovery Loan Scheme, both are closed — GGS is what exists now.
What the Growth Guarantee Scheme is
GGS is delivered through the British Business Bank. It gives accredited lenders a partial government guarantee, which encourages them to lend to smaller UK businesses that might otherwise struggle to secure funding on acceptable terms.
Unlike CBILS and the Recovery Loan Scheme, GGS is not a crisis measure. There is no requirement to show you have been affected by any particular event. It is a general-purpose scheme aimed at helping viable businesses fund investment and growth.
Key terms
- Turnover limit: up to £45 million, with an increase to £54 million announced
- Maximum facility: generally £2 million per business group (£1 million for borrowers under the Northern Ireland Protocol)
- Minimum facility: £25,001 for term loans and overdrafts; £1,000 for asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending
- Facility types: term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending
- Term: up to six years for term loans and asset finance; up to three years for overdrafts, invoice finance and asset-based lending
- Guarantee: 70% to the lender
- Security: personal guarantees are at the lender’s discretion, but a principal private residence cannot be taken as security
In July 2026 the Chancellor announced an expansion of the scheme’s capacity, unlocking a further £6.5 billion of market lending over the following four years.
The point most borrowers miss
The guarantee protects the lender, not you. The borrower remains 100% liable for the debt. A government-backed scheme does not mean the government repays your loan if the business cannot — it means the lender is partially covered, which makes them more willing to advance funds in the first place.
This was true of CBILS and the Recovery Loan Scheme as well, and it was widely misunderstood at the time. It is worth being clear about before you apply.
Eligibility
Broadly, to qualify a business needs to be:
- Carrying out trading activity in the UK, with more than 50% of income from trading activity (charities and further education colleges are exempt from this test)
- Within the turnover limit
- Judged by the lender to have a viable business proposition
- Not in difficulty, and not in relevant insolvency proceedings
Certain sectors are excluded from the scheme. Access is through British Business Bank accredited lenders, and each lender applies its own credit criteria on top of the scheme rules. A business that fits the scheme on paper can still be declined on affordability, sector or security grounds — which is usually where a broker earns their keep.
Is GGS actually the right route for you?
Not always, and it is worth saying so. The scheme exists because some businesses cannot get funded on ordinary commercial terms. If yours can, a straightforward commercial facility is often quicker, cheaper and less paperwork. We would rather tell you that than push you through a scheme application you do not need.
Depending on what you are funding, the alternatives worth comparing are:
- Business loans — secured and unsecured, for working capital, expansion or refinancing
- Invoice finance — release cash tied up in your sales ledger
- Asset finance — fund equipment, plant and vehicles, or raise capital against assets you own
- Revolving credit facilities — flexible headroom you draw and repay as needed
- Merchant cash advance — repayments that flex with card takings
- Trade finance — fund imports and supplier payments
The schemes that came before
For reference, because the terminology still causes confusion:
- CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme) — launched early 2020, closed to new applications end of March 2021. Facilities £50,001 to £5 million, with the government covering the first 12 months of interest and fees.
- BBLS (Bounce Back Loan Scheme) — ran alongside CBILS, closed at the same time. Accounted for over 93% of the loans across the three pandemic schemes.
- Recovery Loan Scheme — April 2021 to 30 June 2024. Superseded by GGS.
Together the three pandemic schemes disbursed over £79 billion. None of them are open. If you hold a facility under any of them, contact the lender that provided it.
Speak to us
We are a commercial finance brokerage, working with UK businesses across the North West and nationally. Tell us what you are trying to fund and what your accounts look like, and we will tell you honestly whether a scheme-backed facility or a commercial one is the better route and which lenders are realistically going to say yes.
Fill in the enquiry form below or Give us a call to talk it through.
Bolton Business Finance Ltd is a commercial finance broker. We arrange non-regulated business and commercial property finance only. We are not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and we do not advise on or arrange regulated mortgage contracts or consumer credit. Scheme details on this page are provided for general guidance and reflect our understanding at the time of writing; scheme rules, limits and availability change, and eligibility is determined by the lender. This page is not advice. Full scheme information is published by the British Business Bank.