© Robert Mackie of Scotland.

A Stewarton, Scotland based businessman says a quarter-of-a-million-pound loan was vital for his firm during the coronavirus pandemic, Scotland’s leading newspaper, the Daily Record reports.

A leading knitwear manufacturer, Robert Mackie of Scotland employs 70 staff and has its products stocked in dozens of shops all over the world. However, the company., which has been manufacturing high quality knitted accessories since 1845, was not immune to the impact of COVID-19, the newspaper said.

The company managed to get access to the government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), which will provide working capital and will fund fixed costs to support the historic company through the COVID-19 lockdown until normalised trading resumes.

According to the Daily Record, Barclays Bank has also provided the business with support through its Back to Business programme, a toolkit to help SMEs across Scotland assess the overall health of their enterprise and create a tailored resilience plan for challenging periods. In addition to supporting eligible businesses access CBILS, Barclays is also continuing with its wider support for the Kilmarnock economy with the Thriving Local Economies pilot; an economic growth initiative to supercharge economies in smaller towns.

Through the pilot, Barclays has joined forces with local leaders across government, business and education to identify how to boost the local economy through a landmark study and bespoke programmes and support to help business growth, skills, training and confidence, the report explains.

Graeme Haddow, managing director of Robert Mackie of Scotland, commented: “We’re grateful to Barclays for the support they have offered during what is a worrying time for many businesses.”

“Robert Mackie of Scotland has a proud history and our team is deeply rooted in this community. We knew we needed to move quickly to provide security for our company and certainty for our family of staff, and thankfully Barclays offered guidance through every step of the CBILS application process as well as other assistance through the Back to Business scheme.”

“The package of support offered was vital for the business until trading normalises again.”

Stuart Brown, head of branch and business banking, Scotland at Barclays UK added: “We’re extremely pleased to have supported another business in the Kilmarnock area access the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and I’m confident Robert Mackie of Scotland now has the support it needs to navigate through this period of uncertainty caused by the lockdown.”

“By helping eligible businesses access CBILS, as well as other initiatives such as the Thriving Local Economies pilot and the Back to Business programme, Barclays is going all-out to support the local economy in Kilmarnock through these difficult times.”

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