Both the Federal and the Queensland Governments are offering assistance with concessional loans for businesses affected by the Coronavirus-related economic downturn.
Under the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme, the Federal Government will provide a guarantee of 50 per cent to small and medium enterprise lenders to encourage them to extend credit for working capital.
If your annual turnover is less than $50 million, you might be eligible for a loan up to $250,000 for a term of up to 3 years, with a repayment holiday in the first six months. No security is required for the loan.
In addition:
As part of the loan products available, the Government will encourage lenders to provide facilities to SMEs that only have to be drawn if needed by the SME. This will mean that the SME will only incur interest on the amount they draw down. If they do not draw down any funds from the facility, no interest will be charged, but they will retain the flexibility to draw down in the future should they need to.
The Scheme will open in late April and will be close at the end of September 2020.
For more information contact your lender.
The Queensland Government’s COVID-19 Jobs Support Loans program will also be commencing soon.
The facility, administered by the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA), will offer low interest loans of up to $250,000 for carry on finance. The first 12 months will be interest free to encourage businesses to retain staff.
QRIDA is currently taking expressions of interest from businesses.
For more information contact QRIDA at contact_us@qrida.qld.gov.au or 1800 623 946
The above information does not constitute legal or financial advice – please speak to your accountant and other specialist advisers about your specific circumstances and what’s best for your business. New loans, in particular, require careful consideration of their terms and conditions as they relate to your specific circumstances and your business’s future ability to service such loans.
And as always, we are free to talk to you about any of this.
We are all in this together.