The Community ENABLE Fund Programme
Accredited under the British Business Bank's Community ENABLE Fund to support underserved businesses across Coventry, Warwickshire and surrounding counties.
The programme’s goals are to:
Help social lenders and CDFIs increase their smaller business lending activity by providing more funding.
Enable increased funding to smaller businesses that have been excluded or declined by mainstream lenders.
Support more ethnic minority-led and female-led businesses.
Boost access to finance for smaller businesses in deprived areas.
Who We Can Support?
Entrepreneurs who are ambitious, driven and making a difference, including those often excluded from mainstream lenders.
Based in Coventry, Warwickshire or the Midlands.
Need finance to launch grow or adapt.
Are sole traders, limited companies or partnerships.
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify, businesses need to show they are financially stable and meet our criteria.
This includes the requirements of the Growth Guarantee Scheme, which applies to loans funded through CEF.
The Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) launched in July 2024 and is designed to support access to finance for UK small businesses as they look to invest and grow. Growth Guarantee Scheme-backed facilities are provided at the discretion of CWRT. We are required to undertake our standard credit and fraud checks for all applicants.
Eligibility Restrictions
Turnover limit:
The scheme is open to smaller businesses with a turnover of up to £45m (on a group basis, where part of a group).
UK Based:
The borrower must be carrying out trading activity in the UK and for most businesses, generating more than 50% of its income from trading activity.
Viability Test:
CWRT must consider that the borrower has a viable business proposition.
Business in Difficulty:
The borrower must not be a business in difficulty, including not being in relevant insolvency proceedings
Subsidy Limits:
Borrowers will need to provide written confirmation that receipt of the Growth Guarantee Scheme facility will not mean that the business exceeds the maximum amount of subsidy they are allowed to receive. All borrowers in receipt of a subsidy from a publicly funded programme should be provided with a written statement, confirming the level and type of aid received.
Please note, the following are not eligible under Growth Guarantee Scheme:
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Banks, Building Societies, Insurers and Reinsurers (excluding Insurance Brokers).
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Public sector bodies.
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State-funded primary and secondary schools.
Key Information:
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Loans of up to £150,000
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For start-ups and SMEs
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Interest Rate: from 11% above Bank of England Base Rate. The rate is based on the level of risk involved and the security available.
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Arrangement Fee: 5% of the loan amount. This can be added to the loan and repaid over the term.
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Maximum Term: 60 months
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Early repayment fees will apply
Growth Guarantee Scheme Features:
The Growth Guarantee Scheme is designed to help UK businesses access the finance they need to invest and grow. The following key features outline how the scheme works, from the amount you can borrow to the structure of the government guarantee.
Up to £2m business group:
The maximum amount of a facility provided under the scheme is generally £2m per business group for borrowers outside the scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol, and up to £1m (or such other sum as notified from time to time by us to the lender in accordance with the relevant legal agreement(s)) per business group for Northern Ireland Protocol borrowers. Minimum facility sizes vary, starting at £1,000 for asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending, and £25,001 for term loans and overdrafts
Wide range of products:
The Growth Guarantee Scheme supports term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance and asset based lending facilities. Not all lenders will be able to offer all products
Term length:
Term loans and asset finance facilities are available from three months up to six years, with overdrafts, invoice finance and asset-based lending available from three months up to three years
Access to multiple schemes:
Businesses that took out a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) or a Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) facility before 30 June 2024 are not prevented from accessing Growth Guarantee Scheme, but borrowing under these schemes may reduce the maximum amount the borrower is eligible for.
Pricing:
Interest rates and fees charged by CWRT will vary and will depend on the specific lending proposal. CWRT pricing will take into account the benefit of the Government guarantee.
Personal Guarantees:
Personal guarantees can be taken at the CWRT discretion, in line with their normal commercial lending practices. Principal Private Residences cannot be taken as security within the Scheme.
Guarantee is to CWRT:
The scheme provides the lender with a 70% government-backed guarantee against the outstanding balance of the facility after it has completed its normal recovery process. The borrower always remains 100% liable for the debt.
Guarantee is to CWRT:
Growth Guarantee Scheme-backed facilities are provided at the discretion of CWRT. CWRT and are required to undertake our standard credit and fraud checks for all applicants.
The assistance provided through Growth Guarantee Scheme, like many Government-backed business support activities, is regarded as a subsidy and is deemed to benefit the borrower. There is a limit to the amount of subsidy that may be received by a borrower, and its wider group, over any rolling three-year period. Any previous subsidy may reduce the amount a business can borrow. More information on subsidies is available here.
What We Offer:
Business Loans That Work for You
At CWRT, we believe business lending should be supportive, not stressful. That's why our funding is built on a foundation of flexibility, fair assessments and transparent terms, with a dedicated team to guide you every step of the way.
Legal notice
The Community ENABLE Funding programme, and the Growth Guarantee Scheme is managed by the British Business Bank on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. British Business Bank plc is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. It is not authorised or regulated by the PRA or the FCA.