Certainly was! February has flown by, the days are getting longer and the garden is beginning to spring into life. Hopefully the economy will be following it.
The key thoughts now are about what will happen in the Budget? Particularly with regards to the economic support for individuals and businesses, will it continue or will there be a cliff edge and what will that mean for this year?
The Bounce Back Loan scheme and CBILS are due to end on 31st March, these have been an absolute lifeline for businesses up and down the country and I really hope there will be an extension or new variant launched to support business until the country is up and running again. The vaccination programme is moving apace but it will still be many months before things start to feel a little bit like they used to.
I suspect things will be busy next week as clients old and new want to discuss their options for funding following the budget. We, as always, will be here to find the right funding solutions for them all. I still feel that cashflow is king and there are some great flexible funding options out there in the market right now.
We now have a cautious roadmap out of lockdown, Schools are returning soon and assuming all goes to plan, some of the worst hit businesses will start to re-open. I haven’t told Monty any of this though – he loves the long lockdown walks!
Rupert
