Non-bank SME lender 1pm – through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Onepm Finance – has gained accreditation under the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the company said.
Approval to join the CBILS panel of lenders is likely to see 1pm grow its lending beyond its existing customer base of 20,000 SMEs to support any qualifying SME under the British Business Bank administered scheme, the AIM-listed company said.
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1pm achieved its accreditation some six weeks after CBILS opened for new lenders on 23 March.
The company said that it is currently putting in place the processes required to start lending under the scheme and will soon confirm the date in May when it will be ready to start receiving CBILS applications.
SMEs with an annual turnover of up to £45m can apply for CBILS funding, which provides government-backed loans of up to £5m. Under the scheme, the government underwrites 80 per cent of the outstanding value of the loan for the lender. The benefits of the scheme for SMEs include no upfront costs, no interest payments for the first 12 months, lower initial repayments and no personal guarantees are required.
Ian Smith, chief executive of 1pm, said: “The ability to offer funds through CBILS greatly expands the support we can provide SMEs. We are looking forward to helping those businesses to access the cash they so urgently need.”
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By GlobalDataKeith Morgan, chief executive of the British Business Bank, said: “Our accredited lenders have seen an incredible demand for CBILS since the scheme became available.
“As a non-bank alternative finance provider, this accreditation means 1pm will be able to further support its smaller business customers and continues the British Business Bank’s long-term support of non-bank lenders to offer more diverse sources of finance.”
Low Start asset finance
Earlier this month, 1pm unveiled Low Start, a product designed to help SMEs finance equipment needed to provide services during the coronavirus lockdown.
In a press release the company said its equipment cost management initiative “allows business owners to obtain a lower starting option on their lease, making significantly smaller payments at the beginning of their agreement, for either three or six months.”
Low Start has been initially launched to 1pm’s exclusive panel of asset finance brokers to support their customer and dealer networks throughout the UK, the company said.
Carol Roberts, head of asset at 1pm, said: “As with many of our peers, we have been busy supporting forbearance requests, but it became clear that we also needed to consider new clients who are seeking funding assistance.
“Our clients are reliant on our financial aid and backing which is why we felt launching our Low Start payment option at this time was the right thing to do. As a business, we’re here to support SMEs as much now as ever.
“We hope that the launch of this new initiative will provide our brokers and their customers with reassurance and confidence that we are doing everything we can to support them during this time. We are confident that by working together, we can come out of this crisis.”
1pm currently employs over 170 staff across eight sites, lending about £130m to over 16,000 SMEs, the company said in a statement.
