A top accountant has told how his firm has been inundated with hundreds of calls from customers worried about getting government-backed loans.

Nick Paterno says the ongoing shutdown is causing increasing stress for many of his firm's 2,000 clients.

He is the managing partner of Sidcup-based McBrides Chartered Accountants which operates across north Kent and south east London.

And he feels the government needs to quickly reassess how it is handling its Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

At present the scheme sees banks lend businesses money, with the government guaranteeing 80% of the loan.

But many Kent companies are complaining of ongoing problems getting claims dealt with.

Mr Paterno says there are two main issues: the speed the applications are being handled and the often needless bureaucracy involved.

Problems differ from bank to bank, but some are asking for reams of necessary documentation.

Meanwhile, hard-pressed companies are seeing their cash-flow dry up as they still have bills to pay despite the shutdown.

Mr Paterno says he believes under-pressure bank managers are being ultra-cautious because of their exposure to loans going bad.

But a way to speed up the process would be the government moving to guarantee 100% of CBILS.

He said: "They're already into this for billions anyway, why not increase the sum and take pressure off the banks?"

He feels this would see many of the stalled loans processed quickly and money flowing into companies' accounts before they have to next pay salaries.

"A lot of customers had enough cash to get them through March," he said. "But they're now facing bills for April.

"It's the uncertainty of whether they will get a loan and how long the lockdown will go on for.

"If businesses know when it ends, they can start planning, but everyone is stuck in a kind of limbo."

He said on the face of it CBILS and other government schemes are very useful "but they haven't come to fruition".

Mr Paterno was speaking after Tonbridge businesswoman Fiona Barber told how she was at the end of her tether with lenders' inflexibility.

Like her, some McBrides' customers have spent lots of money on development of their firms.

This means their accounts might not be full of cash but their long-term future is sound because of their investment.

If the loans don't start getting processed quicker and in large numbers soon, Mr Paterno says April into May could "prove to be tricky" for many companies.

Businesses could run out of funds and cease trading completely.

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