Loan funding firm opens Leicester office

First Enterprise has opened a new office in Leicester.

The provider of loan funding and business support services will have its second base in St Stephens Road, Leicester. It is the organisation’s first base outside of its Nottingham headquarters.

Neil Millington, loan fund manager at First Enterprise, said: “This year is an exciting one for us as we are growing considerably and we want to be able to help as many SMEs as possible. We are delighted to have opened a second office and Leicester is a thriving area. Our new Leicester satellite office will have one permanent member of staff and provide a great base for our business advisors working in the area.

“Leicester is a vibrant and growing city with a strong business community. Since January 2013 we have helped 80 start-up businesses across Leicestershire such as Italian street food shop I-Buongustai, so it was the perfect location for us to base our work and help as many entrepreneurs as possible.”

First Enterprise is a not for profit organisation which provides business support and funding to businesses across the East and South Midlands via its Enterprise Loans East Midlands funding stream among other governmental loan pots.

Neil added: “Moving forward, we hope to open many more satellite offices to better serve the areas that we are already working in – Bedfordshire will increasingly become an area of focus for us as our patch grows. We also want to create permanent bases for our business advisors, to ensure that our clients have immediate access to the best possible advice coupled with local understanding and knowledge of each area.

“Small, entrepreneurial businesses are vital to the business landscape but often find it difficult to obtain capital through traditional means.

“We offer a number of loans for start-up and SME businesses to existing companies in need of extra support for growth, so I would encourage any Leicester entrepreneurs looking for funding to get in touch.”