Millions in U.K. Covid Loans Went to Inactive or Brand-New Firms
Lenders gave more than 130 million pounds in questionable emergency aid to small companies, a Bloomberg News investigation finds.
Under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, banks loaned up to 5 million pounds to eligible small businesses.
Photographer: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images EuropeAs coronavirus ripped through Britain and businesses faced a potentially fatal cash squeeze, a company controlled by one of the U.K.’s richest financiers, John Beckwith, received a taxpayer-backed relief loan for about 3.7 million pounds ($5 million) — even though the firm hasn’t been trading for years.
A Bloomberg News review of almost half of the loans granted under the U.K. government’s 26.4 billion-pound Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) shows that lenders handed out more than 130 million pounds to companies with similarly questionable claims, despite a requirement that borrowers had to be negatively affected by the pandemic.