At the end of April the UK Government unveiled its £1.3 billion scheme to aid start-ups (the "Future Fund"). However the scheme comes with strings attached, namely that to qualify for the scheme a company must have raised £250,000 privately in the last five years, and any money invested by the Government must be matched by private investors. To read more about the terms of the scheme see this link. Government investments for the scheme will be in the form of convertible loans. Herein lies the issue for angel investors; if the matched private investment must be made by way of a convertible loan then this will be unsuitable for angel investors seeking to use the SEIS/EIS tax reliefs to mitigate their risks in investing in early stage/high growth companies. “Unfortunately, the route that was taken has really left out the angel market,” says Jenny Tooth, chief executive of the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA).  Another issue which needs to be taken into consideration is that clarity is still being awaited on who may be classified as a third party investor.  Initial speculation has been to the effect that only VCs and funds would be eligible, ruling out angel investors.  Finally, the provision of the loan is on the basis that there is a negative pledge imposed on the recipient company, so that no further borrowings could be taken on by the company which ranked ahead of the Government loan.  The terms have not yet been finalised, so watch this space.

The UK Government also announced its "Bounce Back Loans" at the end of April. The scheme is open to all UK companies that were established and trading in the UK as at 1 March 2020, as long as they earn more than 50% of their income from trading activity. With these new loans, which run over a fixed six year period, businesses will be able to borrow 25% of their annual turnover, up to a maximum of £50,000. The UK Government will pay interest on the loan for the first 12 months, and will also guarantee 100% of the borrowed amount. After 12 months the interest rate will be 2.5% a year. This scheme is specifically aimed at fast-tracking debt funding for small businesses which wouldn't qualify for Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans. There are 11 lenders participating in the scheme including many of the main retail banks.  The process is relatively speedy and, relying on self-certification by the borrower company, has proved to be popular, with funds being made available in reasonably short order.  The business must be able to demonstrate that it has been adversely affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and was not a "business in difficulty" at 31 December 2019 (in other words it was solvent).

There is also a fund which provides start up loans (the "Start up Loan Scheme") of between £500 and £25,000 to help young businesses (fully trading for less than 24 months) be set up or help their growth.  The loans are made to individuals and are unsecured.  Interest is charged at 6% per annum and the loans can be repaid over a period of one to five years.  There is no application fee and no early repayment fee.

Businesses which meet the eligibility criteria for the Start up Loan Scheme are also able to apply to borrow under the Bounce Back Loan scheme.

At the beginning of May the Scottish government launched a fund to provide grants for small and medium-sized businesses affected by Coronavirus, and this fund was recently doubled from £45 million to £90m (the "Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund").This fund was paused for applications at 5pm on Tuesday 5 May 2020 to allow partners to review applications received to date. However the fund aims to reopen soon and will keep businesses informed on next steps.

Additional details of all available Government support may be found at the Government's new coronavirus business support finder tool.

The web-based questionnaire leads to information as to whether a business is entitled to support from the following schemes:

• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
• Deferring Self Assessment payments on account.
• Statutory Sick Pay rebate.
• Self-employment Income Support Scheme.
• Business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure.
• Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund.
• Small Business Grant Funding.
• Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
• Support for businesses paying tax: Time To Pay Service.

The aim is to help businesses and self-employed people across the UK to determine quickly what financial support is available to them during the Coronavirus pandemic.  Note, however, that some schemes are England and Wales specific and the Scottish Government has its own, similar schemes in place.  Further details can be found at the Find Business Support website.