The lender will consider applications from first-time buyers for all Growth Guarantee Scheme-eligible businesses. With prior criteria, applicants had to show at least two years of experience as a business owner.
Atom Bank has also lowered the minimum rating needed for care home applicants, so operators can apply for a Growth Guarantee Scheme loan if the care home has at least a rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ from the Care Quality Commission.
The lender said this would open up funding to a wider range of UK SMEs, especially in areas of the market that are “currently under-served”, and is in direct response to broker feedback.
The Growth Guarantee Scheme is the successor to the Recovery Loan Scheme and aims to support access to finance for UK SMEs so they can invest and grow, with Atom Bank lending over £300m to UK SMEs through both schemes.
Brokers can access variable or fixed rate loans as well as bespoke pricing.
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Tom Renwick, head of business lending at Atom Bank, said: “These enhancements to our Growth Guarantee Scheme criteria will open up funding to a much wider range of UK businesses, particularly first-time buyers in vital sectors. As passionate supporters of SMEs, we understand how important it is for first-time operators to have access to the funding they need in order to take those first steps.
“These changes have been introduced in response to feedback from brokers, demonstrating once again how seriously we take those partnerships. Brokers understand the exact challenges faced by their clients, and we are determined to act on their feedback whenever possible to ensure we can support more great businesses.”
