The British Business Bank has now released final details of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
Within this, and through direct clarification with BBB, we are assured that all EIS and SEIS funded companies will qualify for the scheme. Indeed, BBB have asked us to send out the below message in support of the scheme.
BBB’s lawyers have also confirmed to me that de minimis aid (SEIS) and approved state aid (the EIS scheme) can be cumulated with measures taken under the Temporary Framework (the CBILS Scheme). As such there are no limits on undertakings which have received EIS/SEIS aid from receiving CBILS scheme.
HMRC have also confirmed that the loans are not provided under the RFG so should not be considered as a relevant investment for the purposes of the EIS/VCT legislation however they are checking what the cumulation aspects if any will be.
“EISA notes and welcomes the new CBILS scheme, given its innovative design the benefits received by SMEs do not limit SMEs ability to access EIS and SEIS Funding – so this is a powerful and complementary scheme”
Full details can be found here
I have had de minimis aid in the past, can I still get a loan?
I have had de minimis aid in the past, can I still get a loan? Yes, as long as you meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria. Any previous de minimis state aid does not impact your eligibility for CBILS and does not need to be taken into account by the Lender. CBILS operates as a notified scheme rather than under de minimis as EFG did. There is no interaction between any de minimis state aid previously received by a business and the size of the CBILS facility they can access, should they be eligible.
https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/British-Business-Bank-CBILS-FAQs-for-SMEs-FINAL.pdf