Personal Guarantee Notice

BEF Group require Directors of borrowing companies to personally guarantee the loan/s. As a Director you will be asked to sign a Personal Guarantee agreement (the Guarantee) which will form a contract between you and BEF.

Should the borrowing company default on making the agreed re-payments on its loan(s) you will then become responsible for repayment of the outstanding loan balance(s).

BEF will write to you and ask that you pay the balance(s) owed to BEF either as a lump sum payment or by an agreed arrangement. This is known as making a ‘demand’ on the Guarantee.

If you fail to uphold your guarantee – either because you are unwilling or unable to repay the balance owed to us – we may take legal action against you such as issuing a County Court Claim and obtaining a County Court Judgment or petitioning for your personal bankruptcy.

We may enforce County Court Judgments by issuing a writ and instructing bailiffs to attend your address or by taking a charging order on any property you own.

If you have any reservations about signing a personal guarantee you should seek independent legal advice.

The Guarantee document you will be asked to sign covers all lending – now and in the future – that BEF Group provide to your company. This means that if the current loan is repaid but a subsequent loan is then provided, this guarantee will still remain valid for that new loan and you may not be required to sign a new personal guarantee agreement.

If the borrowing company has more than one Director, you will all be required to provide a personal guarantee on a “joint and several” basis. This means that each individual Director or person will be legally responsible for paying the whole of the outstanding debt balance(s) we have written to you about and not just a percentage share of it.

We may also make a ‘demand’ on the Guarantee if the borrowing company breaks any of the terms and conditions of its loan(s) or has a winding up petition issued against it and not just for defaulting on payments.

We are not required to take any action against the borrowing company before we make demand on the Guarantee and you become liable for the debt.

We will use the address you give us at the loan application stage to write to you in the event of default by the company. It is important that you tell us if you move home to ensure you do not miss important information relating to your personal guarantee.

Additional Lender Security – As part of our lending to your business we may obtain additional lender security such as The Recovery Loan Scheme Guarantee provided by the British Business Bank. This guarantee gives additional protection to the lender NOT the borrower. The borrower and any primary security obtained, such as your personal guarantee, remain obligated at all times and responsible for the repayment of the full balance owed. The lender must exhaust all avenues of recovery, including legal action undertaken against primary guarantees, before they are able to make a claim under the additional lender security.

If you have any questions about the personal guarantee please contact us on 0800 080 3145 or e-mail us at [email protected].

You are strongly advised to obtain independent legal advice prior to signing any loan documents or financial contracts which may personally affect you and your family.