City Council takes over Investbx fund for LEP

A FUNDING stream managed by Birmingham’s online stock exchange Investbx has been taken over by Birmingham City Council and rebranded Finance Birmingham to become the funding arm of the new Birmingham-based Local Enterprise Partnership.

Finance Birmingham will build on the council-funded Birmingham Business Loan Fund, which has lent more than £4m to local businesses over the past 12 months.

The establishment of Finance Birmingham comes after the city council confirmed it had assumed ownership of Investbx Managed Services.

Cllr Timothy Huxtable, cabinet member for Transportation and Regeneration, said: “Support for businesses forms a major part of the Local Enterprise Partnership proposals recently approved by Government and the formation of Finance Birmingham is a proactive first step towards providing this.

“Investbx had already built many of the relationships and networks among the business community that will be vital for this project to succeed, so it makes sense for us to use the council’s expertise and resources to continue this work under the guise of Finance Birmingham.”

Finance Birmingham will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Birmingham City Council and is intended to be self-sustaining through the interest generated on the loans and other support activity.

Sue Summers, chief executive of Investbx, will retain her position at the helm of the new body.

She said: “The city council has recognised the success of the loan fund and is keen to ensure this work continues.

“Businesses are still facing major challenges in accessing finance from traditional sources and Finance Birmingham will play an important role in providing the assistance necessary to enable successful companies to continue to grow.

“Through the work Investbx has done through the loan fund and other activity, we are well positioned within the business community to provide support on behalf of the council.

“These are exciting times and we look forward to working to help small and medium sized enterprises in the city and, in time, within the area covered by the Local Enterprise Partnership.”

The move will enable the new LEP – which also covers Solihull, southern Staffordshire and Bromsgrove – to offer loans to developing businesses within its area, possibly up to and over the £1m mark should lenders be satisfied of a company’s growth potential.