Commenting on UK GDP rising 2.3% in April, Douglas Grant, Director of Conister, part of AIM listed Manx Financial Group, said: “The monthly rise in UK GDP follows the recent positive trend of economic data, falling in line with what we’d expect as restrictions are lifted and the economy nears fully reopening. As the lifeblood of the UK economy, agile and resilient SMEs have no doubt contributed to this growth in output as they adapt to the post-pandemic economy. However, we must remember that the UK’s SME debt burden is ballooning, and we are in serious danger of seeing a relentless flow of weak zombie-like companies falling off a loan default cliff. It is imperative that we avoid compounding this cycle by focussing solely on supporting sectors and businesses that are strong and nimble enough to adapt to the new economy and therefore continue contributing to its growth.

"We believe the introduction of the recovery loan scheme (RLS) will certainly help. We are pleased to see the Government look beyond the initial triage phase and instead identify, prioritise and protect our most resilient business sectors that can meaningfully contribute to the new economy.

"At Conister we have delivered upon all of our initial objectives. We have lent our full CBILS and BBLS allocation and have applications which we hope can be accredited under the RLS. We will focus on lending this to robust business sectors that we believe will thrive in the future. Conister will continue to do all it can, working alongside the Government and traditional lenders, to support British businesses."