Corporate finance advisory firm passes £35 million milestone in CBILS funding

By Nicky Godding

30 September 2020

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Shaw & Co, the specialist corporate finance advisory firm is successfully helping its clients to access more than £36 million of Government backed CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme) lending, since the initiative was launched on 23 March this year.

Since the launch of CBILS, Shaw & Co’s debt advisory team has provided advice to over 500 businesses in need of help.

Colin Burns, Funding Advisor at Shaw & Co, said: “We have been inundated with calls from business owners and have spoken to businesses in almost every sector. The majority of enquiries have focused on how the scheme works, its' eligibility criteria, how much funding should be asked for, and what options are available if a CBILS application has been rejected.”

While Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, granted businesses on 24 September a three months extension until 31 December to apply for CBILS, Shaw & Co is currently acting for over 20 clients covering a number of sectors including travel, fitness, medical waste, grid services, property, and technology all aiming to hit the deadline for submission. The size of loans that Shaw & Co are seeking from the British Business Bank’s CBILS- accredited lenders range from £160k to the maximum £5m. Shaw and Co are actively speaking to main stream banks and the alternative lenders to get their clients the best outcome.

Colin added: “The funds we are helping to raise are being used for a wide variety of purposes from basic “business survival” throughout the economic hardships of the pandemic, to enabling our clients to continue to develop strategically in the currently constrained economic environment. Another use is to compensate for the loss of income our clients are experiencing due to social distancing and health and safety measures in the ‘new normal’.

“We are truly delighted to have been able to ensure that the invaluable lifeline of a CBILS loan has been made available to so many deserving companies whose very survival, in many cases, depended on their application being successfully accepted. While CBILS is undoubtedly an extremely worthy initiative, the application process is nevertheless a daunting prospect for company owners and SMEs to navigate.

“We were also keen to do our bit, by offering clients a discount of up to two thirds on our normal fees to help them during these truly challenging times.”

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.