Assetz Capital sees uptake in CBILS applications ahead of deadline

Assetz Capital has seen an uptake in applications for the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) as the nation heads towards the application deadline of 30 September.

Stuart Law (pictured), chief executive of Assetz Capital, which became the second peer-to-peer lender to be approved to participate in the scheme in May, said the platform has funding lines for at least £150m in CBILS lending and has been very busy with applications over the past few weeks.

“It’s been very busy, we’ve seen huge activity and lots of companies putting in applications,” said Law.

Read more: Mixed views on the future of CBILS

“We’ve seen a continuous huge uptake over the past few weeks.

“We’re sure there will definitely be people who will miss the deadline because they’ve left it too late. I’m sure we’ll get applications on 30 September as will all accredited lenders.”

Meanwhile, LendingCrowd, which was accredited for CBILS at the start of July, reported it had not seen a huge rise in applications of late, but a steady flow.

“The number of applications have been quite steady, but we expect to see a rise nearer the deadline,” said a spokesperson from LendingCrowd.

Some CBILS accredited lenders, such as Funding Circle, have urged businesses to apply for the scheme before it ends on 30 September.

Although the deadline for applications is at the end of the month, in August the British Business Bank granted accredited lenders an extra two months to consider and process CBILS applications received by the end of September.

The latest Treasury figures showed 60,409 firms have had approvals for CBILS worth £13.6bn.