What is it?
The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) is a Government loan guarantee scheme to enable lending
to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which can demonstrate that they have sufficient cashflow to meet lenders loan affordability requirements, but are lacking adequate security to obtain a
commercial bank loan.
Principally used to support loans of between £1,000 and £1 million, and repayment terms
between three months and 10 years. EFG also supports overdrafts and invoice finance facilities,
which have shorter repayment terms of two years and three years respectively.
How it works and who can apply
All EFG loans are provided by the participating lenders using their own funds. The Government
provides the lender with a 75% guarantee for each loan, but the borrower remains liable for
repayment of 100% of the loan.
EFG loans are available to a wide variety of businesses. However, the following criteria applies:
Ø The business must have an annual turnover of less than £41m, but there is no limit on the
number of employees.
Ø The business activity being financed must take place in the UK, although the SME itself might
be foreign owned or registered abroad.
Ø The borrower contributes to the cost of the scheme by paying a 2% per annum premium
which is in addition to the fees and charges applied by the lender.
How to apply
A business will always apply for a commercial loan before EFG is considered. If a business meets the
lenders’ loan affordability requirements, and would have been offered a traditional bank.
Our Services
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Tax Protection
With HMRC becoming more spontaneous with tax investigations we strongly suggest that every business is insured against the cost of investigation. So strongly in fact, that we automatically build it in to our fixed fee agreements. Many of our clients have been very grateful for this insurance when HMRC have come knocking.
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Payroll and Auto Enrolment
Employing people can cause stress for a business owner for many reasons and one of these is payroll. Our teams expect that they will be paid on time and with the correct level of deductions made. We can provide a full payroll service for your business including auto-enrolment, keeping you compliant with your many legal responsibilities.
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We'd love to hear from you
When it comes to supporting small enterprises, helping them grow whilst avoiding regulatory and commercial pitfalls, we have a weath of experience, expertise and a kettle - a very good kettle. If you think we could be a good fit, get in touch to see how we can add value to your business.