Stewarton businessman says a quarter-of-a-million-pound loan was vital for his firm during the coronavirus pandemic. A leading knitwear manufacturer, Robert Mackie of Scotland employs 70 staff and has products stocked in dozens of shops all over the world.But the firm, which has been manufacturing high quality knitted accessories since 1845, was not immune to the impact of COVID-19.The company managed to get access to the government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).The loan provides working capital and will fund fixed costs to support the historic company through the COVID-19 lockdown until normalised trading resumes.Barclays has also provided the business with support through its Back to Business programme, a.