The government has announced a £250,000,000 funding pot called the Future Fund which will issue convertible loans to innovative companies which are facing financing difficulties due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
The scheme will issue convertible government loans to UK-based companies between the amount of £125,000 up to £5,000.000, subject to at least equal match funding from private investors. The scheme will be delivered by the UK Government in partnership with the British Business Bank.
Announcing the new scheme, a government spokesperson said, “These convertible loans may be a suitable option for businesses that rely on equity investment and are unable to access the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.”
While the full terms and conditions of the scheme have not been published, the headline features include that your company must:
- Be based in the UK
- Able to attract the equivalent match funding from third-party private investors and institutions.
- Have previously raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third-party investors in the last 5 years, since 2015.
Whilst the government is yet to set out the repayment terms in full, they have announced that they are set to make the repayment a minimum of 8% per annum of non-compounding interest which must be paid on the maturity of the loan. It was also announced that the loan shall mature after a maximum of 36 months.
You can read about the scheme itself over on the government website here.