How the Growth Guarantee Scheme works
The Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) is a UK government scheme, run by the British Business Bank, that helps smaller businesses get finance. It is the successor to the Recovery Loan Scheme and launched with accredited lenders on 1 July 2024. Accredited lenders offer term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending, and the government gives the lender a 70% guarantee.
The guarantee protects the lender, not the borrower. The business must repay 100% of the debt, so this calculator never reduces your repayments for it. The lender decides whether to lend and sets the interest rate and fees.
Worked example
A £100,000 GGS-backed term loan at 8% over 60 months costs £2,027.64 a month, £121,658.37 in total, of which £21,658.37 is interest.
Interest is worked out monthly at one twelfth of the annual rate. Lenders may calculate interest differently (some charge it daily), so your actual payments can differ slightly. The rate you enter is an illustration unless it comes from a lender's quote.
How fees change the cost
Fees can be handled three ways, and each changes the cost. If you pay them separately, the loan and the monthly payment stay the same and the fees add to your total cost. If they are added to the loan, you borrow more and pay interest on the fees. If they are deducted from the loan, you owe the full amount but receive less, so the true cost is higher than the interest rate suggests. The effective annual rate shown allows for this.
For example, a £100,000 loan with a £2,000 fee deducted leaves you £98,000 in hand while you still repay £100,000. Your lender's quote will say which applies.
Loan terms and the July 2026 changes
Under the existing terms, term loans and asset finance are available for up to six years, and overdrafts and invoice finance for up to three years. On 12 July 2026 the Chancellor announced that GGS will support facility terms of up to ten years for term loans and asset finance, that the annual turnover limit rises from £45 million to £54 million, and £6.5 billion more lending over four years. The British Business Bank is working with accredited lenders to bring these in and says the scheme remains fully operational under its existing terms, so not every lender offers them yet.
The calculator lets you try terms up to 120 months, so you can see the trade-off: a longer term lowers the monthly payment but adds interest. Always check the term your lender will actually offer.
The six years or ten years table shows the trade-off. On £100,000 at 8%, six years costs £1,753.32 a month and ten years £1,213.28, a payment £540.05 lower, but ten years costs £19,353.78 more in interest.
For the full list of changes, see GGS 2026 changes and dates.
Borrowing limits
The published limit is generally £2 million per business group, counting GGS and Recovery Loan Scheme borrowing since 1 August 2022. Term loans and overdrafts start at £25,001, and asset finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending from £1,000. In Northern Ireland, borrowers within the scope of the Windsor Framework can borrow up to £1 million in most sectors, £285,000 in primary agriculture and £170,000 in fisheries and aquaculture. Being in Northern Ireland does not by itself set the limit, and your lender confirms which applies.
These are scheme limits, not what a lender will approve. Scotland, Wales and England follow the same UK-wide limits.
Not sure your business meets the scheme requirements? Use the GGS eligibility checker.
Based in Northern Ireland? See the Northern Ireland eligibility checker for the limit that applies to you.
See also borrowing limits and terms.
Interest rates and fees
Interest rates and fees charged by lenders vary with the specific proposal. Lenders are required to pass on the economic benefit of the guarantee to your business after accounting for their costs of using the scheme, such as the scheme lender fee they pay. Your lender can tell you the rate you would pay.
The British Business Bank says it ensures certain protections, such as limiting lenders' upfront fees, including broker fees, to a maximum of 5%. It does not regulate the broker market, so a broker may charge fees outside its relationships with lenders. Understand any potential fees before you go ahead.
For more on who sets the rate and the 5% fee limit, read GGS interest rates and fees.
Personal guarantees and security
Lenders are allowed to take personal guarantees for facilities of all sizes, if that is part of their usual lending practice. Lenders cannot take your principal private residence as security.
A personal guarantee is separate from the government's 70% guarantee, which protects the lender. The business is still liable for 100% of the debt.
See also GGS personal guarantees.
GGS and the Recovery Loan Scheme
GGS replaced the Recovery Loan Scheme. The third iteration of the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS 3) opened on 1 August 2022, and the British Business Bank reports its data together with GGS data. Facilities offered under RLS from 1 August 2022 and under GGS from 1 July 2024 count as relevant subsidies for GGS.
The most you can borrow across different facilities depends on your lender's assessment of affordability and the scheme requirements. For early-stage businesses in their first three years of trading, the British Business Bank's Start Up Loans programme (loans from £500 to £25,000 at 7.5% a year, according to its GGS FAQs) may also be suitable.
To work out a Start Up Loan, use the start up loan calculator.
To see how a facility counts towards your subsidy allowance, use the GGS subsidy allowance calculator.
For the full comparison, read GGS vs the Recovery Loan Scheme.
GGS in Scotland
In a press release of 2 June 2026, the British Business Bank reported that GGS had unlocked £200 million of debt finance for 1,283 Scottish businesses through 32 lenders, including a number of independent Scottish lenders. West Central Scotland was the most active region, with £65.3 million across 367 loans.
Among cities and areas, Glasgow City led with £33.8 million, followed by the City of Edinburgh (£20.4 million), Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire (£18.5 million) and the Highlands and Islands (£16 million). The largest sectors were wholesale and retail trade and the repair of motor vehicles (£30.9 million), administrative and support services (£23.3 million) and manufacturing (£20.5 million).
The top uses of finance were buying or hiring equipment and machinery (£59.9 million), expanding an existing business (£46.3 million) and general working capital (£37.5 million). The British Business Bank's performance data as at 30 June 2026, which combines GGS with RLS 3, shows 1,387 Scottish facilities and £217.73 million drawn, or 38.40 facilities per 10,000 SMEs. Scotland follows the same UK-wide limits as England and Wales.
Read the full Scotland guide.
GGS in Wales
Wales follows the same UK-wide GGS limits and criteria as England and Scotland: up to £2 million per business group for borrowers outside the scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The British Business Bank's performance data as at 30 June 2026, which combines GGS with RLS 3, shows 912 facilities in Wales and £138.99 million drawn, or 46.99 facilities per 10,000 SMEs (Scotland 38.40, Northern Ireland 19.40).
Not every accredited lender can provide every type of finance or serves every nation. Use the Nation/Region filter on the British Business Bank's accredited lenders page to see which lenders serve Wales.
Read the full Wales guide.
Finding an accredited lender
GGS is delivered only through accredited lenders. The British Business Bank's current accredited lenders page listed 56 lenders when this page was last reviewed and lets you filter by type of finance and by nation or region. Not every lender provides every type of finance, and the amounts offered vary, so check each lender's website.
Approach a lender yourself, ideally through its website. Lenders should only offer GGS finance if they cannot offer a facility on equivalent or better terms without the guarantee, and every facility is at the lender's discretion. If one lender turns you down, you can approach others. The British Business Bank warns that GGS is managed only through accredited lenders, so make sure you, or any intermediary you use, are only offered a GGS-backed facility through an accredited lender.
Browse the accredited lenders list, filtered by type of finance and region.
How this calculator works
The monthly payment is P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where P is the amount you repay the lender, r is the annual rate divided by 12 and n is the number of months. At a 0% rate it is P ÷ n. Each month's interest is the opening balance × r, the rest of the payment reduces the balance, and the final payment clears it.
This covers term loans with equal monthly payments, an optional interest-only start and up to two changes of rate. When the rate changes, the payment is worked out again on the balance and the remaining term. Some contracts change the length of the loan instead, so check your agreement. It does not model overdrafts, invoice finance, asset-based lending or balloon payments. It is an independent tool, not run or endorsed by the British Business Bank or the UK government, and it does not tell you whether you will be approved.
Financing equipment? See the GGS asset finance calculator.
To test whether the repayments fit your cash flow, use the GGS affordability calculator.
Comparing offers
Because lenders set their own rates under the scheme, compare offers on the total amount repayable, including fees, and on security and personal guarantee requirements, not only the monthly payment.
Comparing lenders? Use the GGS loan comparison calculator to line up two or three quotes.
Already repaying a business loan? Compare it with a new GGS loan in the GGS refinancing calculator.
Inputs for the GGS loan calculator
Where is the business based?
England, Scotland and Wales share the same limits. Choose Northern Ireland to apply its separate limits.
Northern Ireland borrower type
Shown for Northern Ireland only. The limit depends on whether the borrower falls within the Windsor Framework rules and on its sector.
Existing GGS and RLS borrowing
GGS or Recovery Loan Scheme borrowing your business group already has. Only the headroom under the limit is left for this loan.
Amount to borrow
The amount your business wants to borrow, before any fees.
Interest rate (nominal, not APR)
The annual interest rate on your loan. The rate shown is only an example, so enter the rate from your quote.
Term
How many monthly payments you'll make, from 3 to 120. Terms over 72 months depend on your lender.
First payment date
The date of your first monthly payment. The schedule dates every payment from it, and the last payment date is shown with the results.
Repayment pattern
Most loans are equal payments at one rate. Choose interest only at the start, rate changes, or both, and the matching fields appear.
Interest-only months at the start
Shown when you choose an interest-only pattern: the months at the start when you pay only interest. The loan is then repaid over the rest of the term.
Rate changes after
Shown when you choose rate changes: the number of months after which the rate changes.
Rate after the change (nominal)
The yearly rate that applies after the change. It is ignored when the rate does not change.
Rate changes again after
A second change of rate, counted in months from the start. It must come after the first change. Leave at 0 for none.
Rate after the second change (nominal)
The yearly rate that applies after the second change. It is ignored when there is no second change.
Fees
Enter any lender arrangement fee, broker fee and other upfront charges, then say how they are paid: separately, added to the loan or deducted from it.
CALCULATOR QUESTIONS
GGS loan calculator questions
What is the Growth Guarantee Scheme?
A UK government-backed scheme where the government guarantees 70% of a business facility to the lender, run by the British Business Bank.
Do I repay the guaranteed part?
Yes. The business is liable for the whole loan; the guarantee protects the lender.
Who sets the interest rate?
The lender. Rates and fees vary, so compare offers.
Can I borrow over 6 years?
The British Business Bank announced in July 2026 that some term loans and asset finance can run up to 10 years. Whether you can depends on your lender.
Is the Northern Ireland limit different?
It can be. Borrowers within the Windsor Framework rules face limits of £1 million in most sectors, £285,000 in primary agriculture and £170,000 in fisheries and aquaculture. Your lender confirms which applies.
Does the calculator tell me if I'll be approved?
No. It shows whether your amount is potentially within the published scheme limits. Accredited lenders decide whether to lend.
How do I apply?
Through an accredited lender. The British Business Bank website lists them.