Merchant Money gets £150m funding line boost as joins RLS

Merchant Money, an SME lender, has gained accreditation to the government’s Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) as well as a funding line in excess of £150m.

Merchant Money offers short term small business loans, as well as a merchant cash advance product. 

The funding line of over £150m has been provided by Shawbrook Bank and a UK clearing bank, which has not been named by Merchant Money for confidentiality reasons.

Its addition to the rosta of lenders operating under the RLS scheme follows that of it being accredited to the government-backed the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

The RLS is one of a number of government-supported measures aimed at helping businesses impacted by Covid.

Launched in April, it offers loans of £25,000 to £10m to UK businesses as they recover following the pandemic.

Originally due to end in December of this year, the scheme was recently extended to June 2022.

It joins scores of other banks of different sizes lending under the scheme, including Funding Circle,HSBC,NatWest and Shawbrook Bank.

Merchant Money said: “The funding announcement delivers significant additional financial support and liquidity to SMEs looking to navigate the pandemic and to establish a sound long-term footing for their business.”

Luke  Jooste, CEO of Merchant Money, said: “Extending our product suite to include RLS loans will enable us to help more small businesses realise their potential at this crucial time in the UK’s economic recovery.

"Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and with a majority of our customers requiring repeat funding, continued access to finance is more important than ever.”