Paul Scully/Parliament
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Government-backed loan schemes benefit businesses in every region of the UK
All regions received a share of the government-backed loans roughly equal to the proportion of businesses they are home to.
Figures published by the British Business Bank today show that the regional distribution of loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) matches the respective share of UK businesses in each region.
Unsurprisingly, London and the South East came out on top, with a collective 33 per cent and 34 per cent share in CBILS and BBLS loans respectively.
London is home to 19 per cent of the UK’s businesses and those based in the capital received a 17 per cent of the total share of CBILS loans, which came to over £2bn in total.
Businesses in the South East received a 16 per cent share of CBILS loans, totalling more than £1.5bn, and equalling the region’s total share of businesses based there.
For BBLS-backed loans, London businesses received nearly £7bn collectively and South East-based businesses collected just shy of £4.4bn.
Paul Scully, MP and the Government’s small business minister, said: “The schemes put in place by the government-owned British Business Bank have provided some much-needed breathing space for businesses as they deal with the challenges posed by coronavirus.”
“Government support has helped firms right across Britain, not just in keeping businesses going but now enabling thousands to bounce back in a safe, Covid-secure manner.”
Outside of London and the South East, the East of England received the most CBILS loans, receiving 11 per cent in total, whereas the North West received the highest proportion BBLS, again an 11 per cent share.
The total amount of CBILS loans dished out to businesses in the East of England came to over £1bn, while the amount of BBLS loans given to businesses in the North West totals just shy of £3.4bn.
As for sectors of business, the retail sector received 19 per cent of CBILS loans, totalling over £2.1bn, despite retail businesses accounting for only 9 per cent of total UK businesses.
The construction sector closely followed retail, with a 14 per cent share in the total amount of CBILS loans handed out, despite retail-based businesses making up nearly 18 per cent of UK businesses.
Both sectors again followed suit for the total share of Bounce Back loans dished out.
Construction businesses received over £5bn in BBLS, a 17 per cent share, and retail businesses received 16 per cent share of Bounce Back loans worth nearly £6bn.
The regions that received the lowest number of both CBILS and BBLS-backed loans were the North East and Northern Ireland, with a 3 per cent and 2 per cent share respectively in both schemes.
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