Nucleus Commercial Finance has been accredited by the British Business Bank under the government-backed Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS).

Nucleus will be the first lender to offer interest-only on all RLS term loans.

Businesses will make interest payments over the first year of their six year Nucleus RLS loan, rather than repaying both interest and principal. The lender says this will help businesses with significantly lower repayments over the first 12 months – a major development as SMEs fully reopen and recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government-backed RLS supports access to finance for UK businesses as they recover and grow following the pandemic. Funds can be used for any legitimate business purpose, including managing cashflow, growth and investment. It is designed to appeal to businesses that can afford to take out additional finance for these purposes.

Under the scheme, Nucleus will provide loans from £30,000 to £10 million (£30 million per group) for SMEs seeking financial support as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. RLS term loans will be available across both secured and unsecured finance options.

The accreditation follows Nucleus playing a role in the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). The lender processed over 12,000 applications, lending £438m in 2020 to support SMEs.

Chirag Shah (pictured), CEO of Nucleus Commercial Finance, said: “We’re delighted to have been accredited under the Recovery Loan Scheme, and pleased to be the first lender to offer interest-only on all RLS loans. This is a significant development for SMEs and the broker community as businesses will be repaying less over the first year of their six year loan. This means they can use the financial support on their priorities and to future proof their business.

“Underpinning our RLS offering is our industry-leading technology, which enables us to process applications and deliver funds to businesses within hours. This allowed us to play a major role in CBILS, demonstrating the role fintech lenders play at a time when traditional banks and other alternative lenders were struggling to keep up.

“As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, we look forward to supporting businesses on the road to recovery. SMEs are the backbone of the economy and by providing continued access to finance we can not only help them achieve future growth but bolster our economy too.”