We’re approaching our 12th week of lockdown and we still don’t know if and when we can expect things to get back to ‘business as usual’. And talking of business, many businesses have seen a big hit to their profits during this period. Some have accessed government support through the furlough scheme, but perhaps less talked about so far is the Covid Corporate Financing Facility, a Bank of England fund that provides companies with money to help them stay in business.
Tottenham Hotspur, Westfield shopping centre in London, and the German chemical firm Bayer have all received bailouts from the fund, and according to research from Positive Money, as of June 3 firms are borrowing £16.186bn from the fund, with the central bank giving the go-ahead for a total of £67.7bn so far.
We’re here today to get a clearer picture of what covid-19 has meant for businesses, including finding out more about these bailouts, what the impacts of them will be, and in whose interests they are. Joining us is Fran Boait, Executive Director of Positive Money, a non-profit think tank that campaigns for systemic change of the money and banking system to support a fair, sustainable, and democratic economy. In conversation with Fran is Sam Dumitriu, Research Director at the Entrepreneurs Network.
