Process
CBILS and RLS refinancing
CBILS loans written on six-year terms mature through 2026 and into early 2027. The scheme guarantee protected the lender, never you, and the borrower protections it carried expire with the facility they were attached to.
Also called CBILS loan · Recovery Loan Scheme · RLS · Covid loan refinancing · Growth Guarantee Scheme · Bounce Back Loan
CBILS was written into March 2021 on terms up to six years. The maturities are arriving now.
| Scheme | Period |
|---|---|
| CBILS written | 0–13 on the scale |
| RLS written | 13–45 on the scale |
| Growth Guarantee Scheme | 45–100 on the scale |
| CBILS maturities | 2026 to early 2027 |
Scheme windows and maturities plotted on a 2020 to 2030 axis. CBILS closed 31 March 2021 with six-year maximum terms; RLS ran from April 2021 to June 2024; the Growth Guarantee Scheme launched 1 July 2024 and runs to 31 March 2030. Sourced to gov.uk and British Business Bank primaries, verified July 2026.
Why this is arriving now
Because CBILS closed on 31 March 2021 and carried maximum terms of six years.
Work that forward and the facilities written in the scheme's final months mature through 2026 and into early 2027. A great many businesses took scheme debt at the point of maximum uncertainty, put it on the longest available term, and have serviced it quietly since. The maturity is the first moment that debt has required a decision in years.
The Recovery Loan Scheme, which ran from April 2021 to June 2024, extends the same pattern further out. And the Growth Guarantee Scheme, launched on 1 July 2024 and extended to 31 March 2030, is the current successor.
The practical point is that this is a scheduled event, visible years in advance, and the businesses that handle it well are the ones that started early rather than the ones with the strongest credit.
What the guarantee did
It protected the lender. It never reduced what you owe, and this is the single most misunderstood feature of the schemes.
CBILS carried an 80% guarantee. RLS launched at 80% and fell to 70% from 1 January 2022. Bounce Back Loans carried 100%. Every one of those percentages describes a government promise to the lender, covering part of its loss if the borrower failed.
The borrower's liability under all of them is 100%. If the business cannot repay, the lender pursues the business for the full amount and claims on the guarantee for its shortfall afterwards. Nothing about the guarantee gives the borrower a discount, a waiver or a defence.
It is worth stating plainly because the belief that the government would absorb most of the debt is common and entirely wrong, and it leads people to treat a maturing scheme facility as less urgent than an ordinary one.
The guarantee percentage is what the government promised the lender. What you owe was never reduced by any of it.
| Scheme | Guarantee |
|---|---|
| CBILS | 80% |
| RLS at launch | 80% |
| RLS from 2022 | 70% |
| Bounce Back | 100% |
| Your liability | 100% |
Guarantee levels by scheme, all payable to the LENDER. CBILS 80%; RLS 80% at launch and 70% from 1 January 2022; Bounce Back Loans 100%. Sourced to gov.uk and British Business Bank primaries. The borrower's liability is 100% under every one of them.
What the wrapper did change
Personal exposure, materially, and those changes were real.
CBILS barred personal guarantees entirely on facilities below £250,000. Above that line a lender could take one at its discretion, but recoveries under it were capped at 20% of the outstanding balance after business assets had been applied, and a principal private residence could not be taken as security.
RLS allowed personal guarantees at the lender's discretion at any size, but kept the home off the table. Bounce Back Loans carried no personal guarantee at all.
Those protections belong to the facility, not to you. They exist because the scheme rules required them, and they last exactly as long as the facility does.
What refinancing removes
The protections, in full, because they were attached to a facility that will no longer exist.
A business refinancing a sub-£250,000 CBILS facility onto ordinary commercial terms is moving from a facility on which no personal guarantee was permitted to one on which a lender may well ask for one, uncapped, with the home no longer excluded by rule.
That is not a lender behaving badly; it is the ordinary commercial position reasserting itself now that the scheme rules no longer apply. But it is a genuine change in personal exposure and it needs to be understood before terms are agreed rather than at signing.
The implication is that the cheapest headline refinancing is not automatically the best one. A slightly higher margin with no personal guarantee, or with a capped one, may be worth considerably more than the difference in rate to the person being asked to sign it.
What the Growth Guarantee Scheme offers
The current successor, and worth checking rather than assuming.
The Growth Guarantee Scheme launched on 1 July 2024, provides facilities up to £2m with a 70% guarantee to the lender, and has been extended to 31 March 2030. Refinancing is permitted in certain circumstances, which makes it directly relevant to a maturing scheme facility.
Two things to note. The guarantee is again to the lender, so it does not change your liability any more than CBILS did. And whether a particular refinancing qualifies depends on the scheme rules and on the accredited lender's own criteria, so it is a question to ask early rather than a route to assume is open.
Where it is available it can be a useful part of the answer, particularly for a business whose credit is sound but whose security position is thin.
The wrapper carried real borrower protections. They belong to the facility, not to you, and they end when it does.
| Protection | Felt on refinancing |
|---|---|
| Fee and early-repayment concessions | 4–24 on the scale |
| Recoveries capped at 20% | 32–58 on the scale |
| Home off the table as security | 52–78 on the scale |
| No personal guarantee below £250,000 | No commercial equivalent |
Protections the scheme rules attached to the facility, ranked by how much a borrower notices their absence on refinancing. CBILS barred personal guarantees below £250,000, capped recoveries above that at 20% of the outstanding balance after business assets, and kept a principal private residence off the table; RLS allowed PGs at any size but also protected the home. Sourced to gov.uk and BBB primaries. Not legal advice.
What the refinancing demands
Know the wrapper, then run a proper process. Those are two separate pieces of work and both matter.
Knowing the wrapper means establishing, before anything else, exactly what you have: which scheme, what balance, what maturity date, what security was taken, whether a personal guarantee exists and on what terms. Businesses are frequently unclear on the last two, and they are the ones that determine what a refinancing costs in exposure rather than in rate.
Running the process means treating this as a competitive refinancing rather than a renewal conversation with the incumbent. The outcome is no longer set by scheme rules, which means it is set by your credit, your preparation and how many parties are looking at it.
Twelve months before maturity is the point at which options still exist. A scheme facility maturing in six months with no alternative arranged is a weak negotiating position, and a lender knows it.
Fold it into the whole book
Refinance the scheme debt as part of the group's total borrowing rather than in isolation, wherever the timing allows.
Most businesses carrying scheme debt also carry other facilities: an overdraft, asset finance, perhaps a commercial mortgage, each with its own maturity and its own security. Refinancing one line at a time produces a patchwork of lenders, overlapping charges and a security position nobody has looked at as a whole.
A single refinancing of the whole book usually prices better, simplifies the security, and produces one maturity to manage instead of four. It also gives the borrower a single conversation to run properly rather than several to run partially.
The constraint is timing: the other facilities have to be close enough to maturity, or repayable without penalty, for a combined refinancing to make sense. That is worth checking early, because prepayment costs on the other lines can decide the shape of the whole exercise.
If the numbers do not work
Say so early, internally, and get advice while there are still options.
A business whose trading has not recovered to the level assumed when the scheme debt was taken may find that a commercial refinancing at the same quantum is not available. That is a solvable problem twelve months out and a serious one at three.
The routes worth exploring are a longer amortisation profile to reduce the annual burden, an asset-based facility where the balance sheet carries value the earnings do not reflect, partial repayment from cash or from a shareholder to bring the quantum within reach, and a negotiated extension with the incumbent while an alternative is arranged.
What does not work is waiting. A maturity date does not move, and the options available to a business with a year of runway are materially better than those available to one with a quarter.
Common questions
When do CBILS loans mature?
CBILS closed on 31 March 2021 and carried maximum terms of six years, so facilities written in its final months mature through 2026 and into early 2027. Recovery Loan Scheme facilities, written from April 2021 to June 2024, extend the pattern further out.
Does the CBILS guarantee mean I only owe 20% of the loan?
No. The 80% guarantee was a promise to the lender covering part of its loss if you failed. Your liability is 100% of the balance, and it always was. The wrapper never reduced what you owe, and treating a maturing scheme facility as less urgent on that basis is a costly mistake.
What protections did the scheme give me?
Real ones, on personal exposure. CBILS barred personal guarantees entirely below £250,000; above that a lender could take one but recoveries were capped at 20% of the outstanding balance after business assets, and a principal private residence could not be taken as security. RLS allowed PGs at any size but kept the home off the table. Bounce Back Loans carried none.
Do those protections survive a refinancing?
No. They belong to the facility, not to you, and they last exactly as long as it does. Refinancing a sub-£250,000 CBILS facility onto commercial terms moves you from a facility where no personal guarantee was permitted to one where a lender may ask for an uncapped guarantee with the home no longer excluded by rule.
So is the cheapest refinancing the best one?
Not necessarily. A slightly higher margin with no personal guarantee, or with a capped one, can be worth considerably more than the rate difference to the person signing it. The personal exposure belongs alongside the pricing rather than after it.
What is the Growth Guarantee Scheme?
The current successor, launched 1 July 2024, offering facilities up to £2m with a 70% guarantee to the lender, extended to 31 March 2030. Refinancing is permitted in certain circumstances. The guarantee is again to the lender, so it does not change your liability, and eligibility depends on the scheme rules and the accredited lender's criteria.
When should I start?
At least twelve months before maturity. A scheme facility maturing in six months with no alternative arranged is a weak position and a lender will know it. This is a scheduled event that has been visible for years, and the businesses that handle it well are the ones that started early.
Should I refinance the scheme loan on its own?
Usually not. Most businesses carrying scheme debt also carry an overdraft, asset finance or a mortgage. Refinancing the whole book together generally prices better, simplifies the security and leaves one maturity to manage instead of four. Check prepayment costs on the other lines early, since they can decide the shape of the exercise.
The full treatment sits in the guide: refinancing cbils rls loans.
Related terms
This page explains a term as it is used in the UK lower-mid-market. It is general information, not advice on any particular facility. Terms vary between lenders and between deals, and the drafting in your own agreement governs.