LONDON – UK throws coronavirus lifeline to more big businesses.Britain will allow more large businesses to apply for government funds, finance minister Rishi Sunak announced on Thursday, after many risked being left to collapse while the coronavirus outbreak tears through the economy.

All companies with revenue of more than 45 million pounds ($56 million) will be able to apply for the UK throws coronavirus lifeline to more big businesses Interruption Loan Scheme when it launches on Monday, the finance ministry said.

Previously, the scheme excluded companies with revenue of more than 500 million pounds because the government had hoped that big firms would be covered by a separate Bank of England programme to buy their commercial paper.

But that scheme helps only companies that have an investment-grade credit rating, or the equivalent in terms of financial health. As a result, many viable large firms were excluded from the government’s financial help.

Britain’s government has been scrambling to upgrade its unprecedented measures to reduce the scale of the collapse underway in the world’s fifth-largest economy.

A survey this week from the Office for National Statistics showed 25% of businesses had temporarily closed or paused trading since the lockdown.

“I want to ensure that no viable business slips through our safety net of support as we help protect jobs and the economy. That is why we are expanding this generous scheme for larger firms,” Sunak said in a statement....Read More….

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