Hotel owner: I was offered a costly last-ditch overdraft
SMALL business owners were last week offered expensive overdrafts and loans by their banks – even though the Chancellor had promised ‘interestfree’ deals within days.
Christopher Morgan, owner of the Cotford Hotel in Malvern, Worcestershire, said his Lloyds bank manager offered him an overdraft at 4.6 per cent or a loan at 2.9 per cent after he lost three months of business worth £180,000.
Morgan almost signed up – until his local MP Harriett Baldwin told him to wait for Government assistance.
‘It’s a bit unscrupulous. I think they should have been more honest with us,’ he told the MoS. ‘They should have said, “We’ve heard of this opportunity [from the Treasury], bear with us and give us a few more days.”’
Lloyds said: ‘We are working as quickly as we can to ensure that once the business support is available, customers can access the finance they need.’