Growth Guarantee Scheme

The Growth Guarantee Scheme is a British Business Bank scheme in which the government guarantees 70% of an accredited lender’s loss on a facility to a smaller UK business. At November 2026 it is open for applications, for facilities of up to £2m per business group. Your business remains 100% liable for the debt, and you apply through an accredited lender.

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How the Growth Guarantee Scheme works

The scheme gives an accredited lender a government guarantee of 70% of the outstanding balance of a facility, which the lender can claim once it has completed its normal recovery process. The lender pays a fee for the guarantee. With part of its possible loss covered, it can lend to viable smaller businesses it would otherwise turn down, using its own money and its own credit decision.

The guarantee protects the lender. Your business remains 100% liable for the debt, and the lender recovers from you in the same way as on any other loan before it claims from the scheme. A scheme-backed facility is a commercial facility, priced by the lender after its standard credit and fraud checks. The British Business Bank says the pricing reflects both the benefit of the guarantee and the fee the lender pays for it.

If a lender can offer you a comparable commercial loan without the guarantee, it will do so. The scheme is for a business that can afford the repayments but falls short of a lender’s normal appetite on security, trading history or size. The British Business Bank runs it on behalf of the government, and the Chancellor announced increased capacity for it on 13 July 2026.

Scheme limits at November 2026

70%Government guarantee to the lender on the outstanding balance
£2mMaximum facility per business group (£1m for Northern Ireland Protocol borrowers)
£54mMaximum turnover, measured across the group
10 yearsLongest term, for term loans and asset finance up to £1.1m with some lenders

Source: British Business Bank, Growth Guarantee Scheme, checked 3 November 2026.

Facilities the scheme supports

Term loans
From £25,001. Terms of three months to six years, or up to 10 years with some lenders for facilities up to £1.1m (£550,000 in Northern Ireland). A longer term reduces the maximum facility size.
Overdrafts
From £25,001, for three months to three years.
Asset finance
From £1,000, on the same terms as term loans. See asset finance.
Invoice finance and asset-based lending
From £1,000, for three months to three years. See invoice finance.

Not every accredited lender offers every product. The money can go on any legitimate business purpose, including managing cash flow and investment, as long as the business can afford the repayments.

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Personal guarantees and your home

A lender can take a personal guarantee on a scheme facility at its discretion, in line with its normal commercial lending. The scheme rules bar one thing: a principal private residence cannot be taken as security within the scheme. A lender cannot take a charge over your main home to secure a scheme facility.

The guarantee itself still binds you. If the company defaults, the lender has to complete its normal recovery process before it claims under the scheme, and that process includes calling any personal guarantee, suing on it and enforcing a judgment. Read the cap and the scope of any guarantee before you sign, as you would on any loan.

What a personal guarantee means for a director covers the effect on your family and your estate.

Who is eligible

The scheme is open to smaller and medium-sized businesses with turnover of up to £54m, measured across the group where the business is part of one. The borrower must trade in the UK, and the scheme generally requires more than half of its income to come from trading activity. The lender must consider the business viable, and it must not be a business in difficulty, which includes being in insolvency proceedings.

The guarantee counts as a subsidy to the borrower. There is a limit on the subsidy a business and its wider group can receive over any rolling three-year period, so earlier public support can reduce what you can borrow under the scheme. You confirm in writing that the facility will not take you over the limit, and the lender gives you a written statement of the subsidy you have received.

A business that took a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan, a Bounce Back Loan or a Recovery Loan Scheme facility before 30 June 2024 can still apply, though that borrowing may reduce the maximum available. For a business that is new or has traded for up to 60 months and needs up to £25,000 per founder, Start Up Loans is the other government-backed route.

How to apply

  1. 1

    Check the basics

    Turnover up to £54m across the group, trading in the UK, not in difficulty, and room under the subsidy limit after any public support in the last three years.

  2. 2

    Find an accredited lender

    The British Business Bank publishes the list of accredited lenders. Check which of them offers the facility you need under the scheme.

  3. 3

    Apply for the facility

    Apply for the loan, overdraft or other facility as normal. The lender runs its standard credit and fraud checks and decides whether to use the scheme.

  4. 4

    Confirm the subsidy

    If the lender offers a scheme-backed facility, confirm in writing that it keeps you under the subsidy limit, and keep the lender’s written statement.

What the guarantee does if a loan goes wrong

Illustrative example

A lender advances £500,000 to a company under the scheme. The company fails with £400,000 outstanding. Through its normal recovery process, including the directors’ guarantees, the lender recovers an assumed £120,000.

Outstanding balance
£400,000
Recovered by the lender
£120,000
Lender’s loss after recovery
£280,000
Paid to the lender under the 70% guarantee
£196,000
Loss the lender bears itself
£84,000
Still owed by the company, which remains 100% liable
£280,000

The guarantee payment goes to the lender and reduces its loss. It does not reduce what the company owes.

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Questions people ask

Is the Growth Guarantee Scheme still open?

Yes. At November 2026 the British Business Bank lists the scheme as open for applications through accredited lenders, and the Chancellor announced increased capacity on 13 July 2026. Facilities run up to £2m per business group, or £1m for Northern Ireland Protocol borrowers, for businesses with turnover up to £54m. Check the British Business Bank site for any change before you apply.

Do I need a personal guarantee for a Growth Guarantee Scheme loan?

That is for the lender to decide. The scheme lets lenders take personal guarantees at their discretion, in line with their normal commercial lending, so expect the same request you would get on a loan outside the scheme. The rule that differs is that your principal private residence cannot be taken as security within the scheme.

What interest rate is charged on a Growth Guarantee Scheme loan?

The lender sets the rate and fees. The scheme sets no rate. The British Business Bank says pricing varies with each lending proposal and takes account of the benefit of the guarantee and the fee the lender pays for it. Compare a scheme offer with any other offer on the total cost in pounds over the term, using the loan comparison calculator.

Can a start-up use the Growth Guarantee Scheme?

The scheme’s published criteria set no minimum trading period, but the lender must judge the business viable and able to afford the repayments, and term loans start at £25,001. A business with no trading record will find that hard to show. Start Up Loans offers up to £25,000 per founder at a fixed 7.5% a year, at November 2026, to businesses that are new or have traded for up to 60 months.

Does the Growth Guarantee Scheme cover asset finance and invoice finance?

Yes. It supports term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending. Asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending start at £1,000; term loans and overdrafts start at £25,001. Not every accredited lender offers every product under the scheme, so ask the lender which of its facilities it can put through it.

Finance is subject to status and to the lender’s terms. A personal guarantee makes you liable for the company’s debt if it does not repay, and it can be enforced against your own assets, including your home. Nothing here is a personal recommendation.

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Start Up Loans

The government-backed personal loan of up to £25,000 for new and young businesses, with up to 12 months of mentoring.

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Secured business loans

Borrowing backed by a charge over property, equipment or the whole company, and what the lender can do if it goes wrong.

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Unsecured business loans

Borrowing without a charge over company assets, and the personal guarantee lenders ask for in its place.

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Funding searches run on Swoop’s platform. Swoop Finance Limited is a credit broker and not a lender, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 936513). Buzz Accounting Ltd introduces businesses to Swoop and may receive a fee from Swoop when funding is arranged. Business funding is separate from the financial advice Equity & General Financial Services Limited gives through this website. Finance is subject to status, and a lender may ask a director for a personal guarantee.

Cover for a personal guarantee

If a lender asks you to guarantee the company’s borrowing, our advisers can advise on life cover for that debt.

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