The UK Government announced a financing scheme worth billions of pounds to support small businesses impacted by the US tariffs imposed by President Trump’s administration.

The package provided through the British Business Bank (BBB) will allow eligible businesses to borrow up to £2m through its Growth Guarantee Scheme. 

Background

On April 2, the US President imposed a series of trade tariffs on countries worldwide and the UK, despite our close relationship with the US, was not exempt from that.

After a few days of stock market turmoil, the President backtracked and paused tariffs for 90 days. All countries, including the UK, will now pay a 10% “universal tariff” on all goods exported to the US. In addition, certain tech and electronics products will be exempt from tariffs.

On April 13 2025,  to support UK businesses, the Chancellor announced that the Growth Guarantee Scheme will provide approximately £500m of additional lending capacity to help more smaller businesses across the UK. The extra funding is aimed at smaller businesses that may need support with cash flow issues due to changes in global tariff rates.

What is the Growth Guarantee Scheme, and How to Apply

It is designed to support access to finance for UK smaller businesses as they look to invest and grow. The Growth Guarantee Scheme launched with accredited lenders on 1 July 2024, with a wide range of products supported by different lenders, including term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending.

The Growth Guarantee Scheme can generally support facility sizes of up to £2m and provides the lender with a 70% government-backed guarantee.

Eligibility criteria include:

• 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.
• The lender must consider that the borrower has a viable business proposition
• The borrower must not be a business in difficulty, including not being in relevant insolvency proceedings;
• Borrowers will need to provide written confirmation that receipt of the GGS 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

Click here to learn more about the Growth Guarantee Scheme Accredited Lenders