Escalade repays $5.63 million U.S. government loan

Escalade

28/04/2020 22:12

April 28 (Reuters) - Sporting goods and outdoor recreation
products retailer Escalade Inc  ESCA.O  said on Tuesday it had
repaid its outstanding $5.63 million loan received as part of
the U.S. government's small-business aid.
    Several U.S. companies began refusing government loans they
were just awarded, after the Treasury Department said that
publicly traded firms would have a hard time proving they really
needed the coronavirus relief funds.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2CB0XB
    This follows public backlash after some large well-funded
companies were granted millions of dollars from the fund, while
many small businesses were unable to access any funding at all.
    Restaurant operators Shake Shack Inc  SHAK.N  and Kura Sushi
USA Inc  KRUS.O  were among the companies that returned loans
from an initial tranche of the program.
    "Although Covid-19 continues to create substantial
uncertainty and hardship throughout the world, we repaid our
loan as a result of new guidelines from the Small Business
Administration," Escalade Chief Executive Officer Scott
Sincerbeaux said in a statement.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nPn1M1mgwa
    The loan, provided under the Paycheck Protection Program, is
designed to support businesses having no more than 500 employees
to cover their employee payroll and rent, as large swaths of the
economy have been shut down to keep the coronavirus from
spreading.    

 (Reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju
Samuel)
 ((ShantiS.Nair@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 8780 Ext: 7208;
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shanti_2594;))