A successor scheme
The Growth Guarantee Scheme is the successor to the Recovery Loan Scheme. The third iteration of the Recovery Loan Scheme opened on 1 August 2022 and stopped accepting applications after 30 June 2024. The 2024 Spring Budget announced that the scheme would be renamed GGS and extended, and GGS launched with accredited lenders on 1 July 2024.
GGS is scheduled to run until 31 March 2030. It was extended to 31 March 2026 first, and the 2025 Spending Review extended it further.
What counts towards your limits
The maximum you can borrow under GGS, including RLS since 1 August 2022, is set at business group level. Any RLS or GGS facility taken after 1 August 2022 counts towards your cumulative subsidy limit. Facilities taken under CBILS, CLBILS or RLS before 30 June 2022 do not count towards it.
A BBLS may count towards your cumulative aid allowance. Your BBLS lender told you at the time if it was provided under the EU's de minimis Regulations.
What changed
The British Business Bank reports GGS and the third iteration of RLS together in its performance data: 22,947 facilities and £3.96 billion drawn as at 30 June 2026. The headline terms are now up to £2 million per business group and a 70% guarantee to the lender.
Check your allowance with the GGS subsidy allowance calculator.
For the older scheme's repayments, see the recovery loan scheme calculator.
QUESTIONS
Growth Guarantee Scheme vs Recovery Loan Scheme: questions
Can I still apply for the Recovery Loan Scheme?
No. The third iteration stopped accepting applications after 30 June 2024. GGS is open to new applications through accredited lenders.
Does an RLS facility affect my GGS limit?
Any RLS or GGS facility taken after 1 August 2022 counts towards your cumulative subsidy limit, and the group-level maximum includes RLS since that date.
Can I use GGS to refinance RLS?
Yes, where your total financing needs, including any increase, are greater than the minimum facility sizes. It is a new application.