Business Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS)

Repaying your Bounce Back Loan

You received a payment holiday for the first year of your loan, with the interest being paid for by the Government via a Business Interruption Payment. After the first 12 months, you will need to start making monthly repayments to repay the amount you borrowed, plus interest from the date your repayment holiday ends.

Please note you do not need to contact us in advance.

If you no longer need the loan, you can choose to pay it back early. You’ll then pay less interest. There are no early repayment charges and you won’t pay any interest if you pay the full amount before the end of your initial 12-month repayment holiday.

Or you can make a one-off repayment, as well as additional payments on a regular basis, and doing so will also help save you money on your interest payments.

Your other repayment options

Pay As You Grow

Pay As You Grow could give you more time and flexibility to pay back your loan.

Pay As You Grow options will be available to you once you start to repay your Bounce Back Loan, from 12 months after it was first approved.

Using these options won’t affect your credit score, or negatively affect your credit file. We may use requests for Pay As You Grow options to help us assess affordability in future lending applications, for example we will take into consideration incomings and outgoings, including existing debt repayments such as the Bounce Back Loan, and also your total debt exposure, which will include the outstanding Bounce Back Loan.

The options available to you when you are due to make your first payment after 12 months are as follows:

1. If you expect to be in a better position to repay in the future:

a) You could reduce your monthly repayments for six months by paying interest only.

• This option is available up to three times during the term of your Bounce Back Loan.

OR:

b) You could take a payment holiday for six months.

• This option is available once during the term of your Bounce Back Loan.

2. If you’re only able to repay a smaller amount:

You could request an extension of your loan term from six years to 10 years at the same interest rate of 2.5%.

If you’re considering this option you should think carefully about your ability to repay over a longer timeframe, taking into account such things as whether you intend to cease trading or retire within the revised term of your Bounce Back Loan.

Please note for all three options that the total amount you owe will go up. This is because your interest costs increase as you’re repaying your loan over a longer period.

You can use options 1 and 2 together if you need to.

To see how your repayments could be impacted by selecting one of these options try our BBLS Pay As You Grow repayment calculator.

For more information on Pay As You Grow, visit our FAQs.

We’re here to help

If you’re worried about your finances, please get in touch by sending us an in-app message. If you’re in financial difficulty and need support, please contact our specialist team on 0204 506 8350 (Monday to Friday 8am-8pm; Saturday 9am-5.30pm) or email us: businesslendingsupport@starlingbank.com.

You can also contact the following organisations for free advice:

• Small Business Commissioner (SBC): an independent public body the government created to help the UK’s small businesses with late payments (call on: 0121 695 7770)
• Business Debtline: a charity just to help businesses dealing with debt (call on: 0800 197 6026)
• Advice NI – Business Debt Service: for sole traders, partnerships and limited companies in Northern Ireland (call on: 0800 915 4604)
• StepChange: for self-employed people and sole traders
• FSB Debt Recovery: a debt service for members of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
• The Money Advice Service: government advice and handy tools and calculators (call on 0800 138 7777)
• Citizens Advice: help with all money worries and debt, including benefits and legal problems (call from England on: 0800 144 8848; Wales on: 0800 702 2020; Scotland on: 0800 028 1456)

Other business finance support options

In addition, the British Business Bank has a range of guidance and resources available to all businesses, including content on managing your cashflow and a list of independent advice services.

Reminder of your Bounce Back Loan terms and conditions

When you applied for your Bounce Back Loan, you declared that you understood that:

• You are fully liable for all repayments, and if you are unable to meet these obligations, this could negatively affect your credit score.
• The 100% government guarantee is provided to cover any losses the lender makes and does not cover any losses that you might suffer if you are unable to meet your payment obligations.
• We would not carry out any affordability checks on your application.

Find out more information in our FAQs on repaying Bounce Back Loans.

Read more about Pay As You Grow options.

If you are experiencing money worries please read our support content.

Your rights

All lending is subject to status, availability, our lending criteria and the BBLS eligibility criteria.

The right to decline any application is reserved. BBLS Loans are not subject to the usual consumer protections that apply to business lending and as such you will not have the benefit of the protection and remedies that would otherwise be available to you under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 or the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Should you wish to make a complaint, please visit our How to complain page which includes details of our complaints handling procedure and your right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) is managed by the British Business Bank on behalf of, and with the financial backing of, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. British Business Bank plc is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. It is not authorised or regulated by the PRA or the FCA. Visit british-business-bank.co.uk..

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Important information

Here’s what we’ll do when you take out a Bounce Back Loan:

• We’ll monitor all the repayments you make and offer help and advice if you’re having trouble repaying.
• If we identify you as a vulnerable person, we’ll make adjustments to reflect your personal circumstances.
• If you default, we’ll give you a fair period of time to fix the problem. As long as the repayment is made during that time, we won’t mark it as a default on your record.
• We won’t ask you to pay lender fees or interest (even if you default), but if the Bounce Back Loan isn’t repaid when it’s due, we will charge interest at 2.5% a year, and stop charging it as soon as you’ve repaid.
• We’ll provide information in a way that’s clear, fair and not misleading.

Here’s the information we’ll give you about your Bounce Back Loan:

• Clear guidance if you miss a repayment on your loan. This includes information about the amount that’s been missed, what you can do if you’re having trouble with repayments (and in what timescales) and any impact on future repayments.
• If you default, we’ll give you details about any action we’re taking, before we take it.
• Regular information about your Bounce Back Loan (on at least an annual basis). This will take the form of a statement setting out details of the payment transactions during the period since such information was provided (or the date the Loan was advanced to you, if no such information has been provided previously) and amounts outstanding under your Bounce Back Loan.
• The help and assistance options available to you, including sources of free independent advice.

The details above are for information purposes only.

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How much will a Bounce Back Loan cost me?

• You will not need to make any (principal or interest) repayments in the first 12 months. During this time the loan will accrue interest but Starling will reclaim the interest from the British Business Bank on your behalf.

• You will start paying your loan in month 13. For this loan, the cost of your monthly repayment is made up of two parts:

  • a principal repayment: you pay an equal amount each month until you have repaid all the capital over 60 months. We ‘round down’ costs, so if you can’t divide the total loan cost equally over 60 months, we’ll round the cost down to the nearest penny and then at the end of the 60 months we’ll adjust your final payment to cover the total cost of the loan.
  • an interest repayment: this is calculated at 2.5% fixed on the balance of your loan. At Starling we calculate interest daily based on your loan balance.

• Your repayments will be made monthly and the monthly repayment amount will change each month as the loan is repaid over time.

• When your received your loan a schedule of the repayments was provided and is available to view in the Online Bank - Loans section.