Almost half (48%) of small and medium-sized businesses that have applied for coronavirus business interruption loans have been successful.

Statistics from UK Finance up until 30 April 2020 showed that 25,652 applications out of 52,807 had been approved.

More than £4.1 billion has been handed out in total so far, with around £1.33bn being distributed in the week between 21 and 28 April 2020.

However, 25,652 small businesses in receipt of loans represents less than 0.5% of the 5.9 million businesses in the UK.

That prompted fears many firms are running out of cash and could go to the wall without emergency support arriving soon.

In response, the Government revealed bounce-back loans of up to £50,000, or 25% of the appicant's turnover, which are available from Monday 4 May 2020.

Stephen Jones, chief executive at UK Finance, said:

"Changes to the scheme announced this week will enable even more businesses to access the support they need.

"This extensive support will be complemented by the new bounce-back loans scheme targeted at smaller businesses, which lenders are now working at pace to get up and running from Monday."