The institutionally funded lender was accredited as a CBILS lender by the British Business Bank in July 2020, and its allocation was later on increased to £175m.

Funds were advanced to businesses throughout the UK and across a broad range of sectors, including housebuilders, hotels, restaurants, wedding venues, nurseries, specialist engineering companies and office and retail space operators.    

According to Fiduciam, its remaining CBILS loan book is performing well and borrowers have been punctual with interest payments, with only a limited number of clients that have requested a loan extension.

The lender has never had to call on the government guarantee for any loan.

Given the strong performance of the CBILS portfolio, Fiduciam expects to remain a net payer to the government in respect of the scheme.  

To date, the firm has paid the taxpayer a total of £608,000 in fees for the benefit of the government CBILS guarantee.

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Johan Groothaert, CEO at Fiduciam (pictured above), commented: “Many of the SMEs that approached us found themselves in serious financial and operational difficulties, but our accreditation by the British Business Bank for CBILS allowed us to help them get through this very challenging trading environment.   

“It was hugely rewarding to assist a variety of great businesses, suffering short-term cashflow difficulties, and enable them to support future growth and employment.  

 “With 75% of Fiduciam CBILS loans now successfully redeemed, and the continued performance of the outstanding facilities, our team can take tremendous satisfaction from the high-quality underwriting delivered throughout the pandemic.  

“Given that to date we have not called on the government guarantee, but have been paying a considerable premium for it, this has been a win-win for all, and so far, our dataset shows the absence of adverse selection.  

“This observation underscores that well managed government guarantees in times of extreme crisis can be a very efficient tool for protecting the economy.”