If you run a UK business and you’ve ever been told by your bank that you’re too small, or waited weeks for an answer that turned out to be no, this is worth five minutes of your time.
The Growth Guarantee Scheme is a UK government-backed scheme run by the British Business Bank. It was launched in July 2024 as the successor to the Recovery Loan Scheme and has been extended to 31 March 2030. In July 2026 the Chancellor announced increased capacity for the scheme, so lenders can support even more viable smaller businesses.
Here’s what it actually is, who it’s for, and how to check if your business qualifies.
What is the Growth Guarantee Scheme?
The Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) is a government-backed initiative administered by the British Business Bank on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. Its purpose is to help UK smaller businesses access funding for investment and growth.
The way it works is simple. The government provides a 70% guarantee to accredited lenders on the outstanding balance of every facility issued under the scheme. That guarantee lets lenders extend their appetite for risk, so they can support more viable smaller businesses than they otherwise would.
Many high street banks are accredited too, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest and Santander, alongside specialist lenders. You don’t need to be an existing customer of the lender you approach, and if a lender can offer a comparable loan without the guarantee, it will.
The scheme supports a wide range of products: term facilities, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance, and asset-based lending. Not every lender offers every product.
Extended to 2030
The scheme was originally due to end in March 2026. It has now been extended to 31 March 2030.
The 70% guarantee still applies and the same products are covered. In July 2026 the Chancellor announced further changes: more capacity, a turnover limit of £54 million (up from £45 million), and terms of up to 10 years with some lenders on facilities up to £1.1 million. The £2 million cap stays the same.
How much can a UK business access?
The scheme can generally support facilities of up to £2 million per business group where the term is six years or less, for businesses outside the scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Longer terms reduce the maximum. For businesses in scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the maximum is £1 million, with lower caps for certain sectors such as agriculture and fisheries.
Minimum facility sizes vary depending on the product. Asset finance, invoice finance, and asset-based lending start from £1,000. Term facilities and overdrafts start from £25,001.
Who qualifies?
The main eligibility criteria are straightforward. Your business needs to:
- Have a turnover of up to £54 million (on a group basis where part of a group).
- Be carrying out trading activity in the UK, and for most businesses generate more than 50% of income from trading activity.
- Have a viable business proposition as assessed by the lender.
- Not be a business in difficulty, including not being in relevant insolvency proceedings.
- Be within subsidy limits for publicly funded programmes.
Each lender runs its own credit and fraud checks and makes its own decision. The 70% guarantee gives lenders room to support viable businesses they might otherwise not take on. Tally’s service is for limited companies only.
What can the funding be used for?
The short answer is any legitimate business purpose, including:
- Working capital and cashflow management.
- Investment in growth — new premises, new equipment, new hires, new stock.
- Business expansion across operations, marketing, and infrastructure.
The key condition is that your business must be able to afford the repayments. The scheme isn’t designed to rescue businesses in trouble. It’s designed to help viable businesses invest and grow.
How the terms work
Term facilities and asset finance under the scheme are available from three months up to six years. For facilities of up to £1.1 million (£550,000 in Northern Ireland), some lenders can offer up to 10 years. Overdrafts, invoice finance, and asset-based lending are available from three months up to three years.
Interest rates and fees vary by lender and by the specifics of each application, so check them before you accept anything. The lender’s pricing takes into account the benefit of the government guarantee and the fee it pays for that guarantee.
Personal guarantees can be taken at the lender’s discretion, in line with their normal commercial practices. Principal private residences cannot be taken as security within the scheme.
Importantly, while the government provides a guarantee to the lender, the business remains 100% liable for the facility. The guarantee protects the lender, not the borrower.
How to access the scheme
The Growth Guarantee Scheme is available through accredited lenders, and you can approach them directly, including your own bank. The British Business Bank publishes the full list on its website. Some businesses work through a broker or an introduction service instead.
That’s where Tally comes in. We’re an introduction service. We look at your situation — turnover, trading history, what the funding is for — and try to match you with a funding partner, usually a specialist broker, who can review your options. Those may include GGS-backed finance.
How to check if your business qualifies
To find out if we can match you, complete a short eligibility check. It takes about sixty seconds and asks a handful of questions about your business — how long you’ve been trading, turnover, what you’re looking to fund.
If we can match you, we’ll introduce you to a funding partner who can review your options. Lending decisions are made by lenders.
There’s no obligation to proceed, and checking doesn’t commit you to anything. But it’s worth knowing where you stand, especially now the scheme has been extended to 31 March 2030 and its capacity has been increased.