Second deal in 10 months for investment fund
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) has revealed just its second West Midlands deal in nearly 10 months.
Shropshire manufacturer Motiv Trailers, has recruited two people and expects to add one more after receiving the loan from BCRS. It plans to increase capacity and accelerate its international expansion plans in Europe and the USA.
It follows the loan announced in December for Direct Digital Controls, an environmental control systems business based in Brierley Hill, which used support from BCRS to create four jobs.
The value of the loans to the two businesses have not been disclosed, but the particular fund can only lend up to £150,000 each time
An MEIF spokesperson said “there are plenty of further deal completion announcements in the pipeline”.
The £250m MEIF fund, which was originally announced by then-Chancellor George Osborne in his March 2016 Budget, had a troubled birth that was delayed by legal challenges to the tendering process.
Eventually £120m was released in August 2017 in the debt finance and small business loans pots. A further £92m became available in February this year for equity financing, of which Midven is managing £34.5m for a venture fund in the West Midlands and Mercia Fund Managers has £23m for its proof of concept and early stage equity fund that covers the whole of the Midlands.
Maven Capital operates the £50m debt finance fund in the West Midlands, which can provided loans ranging from £100,000 to £1.5m. BCRS is running the small business loans in the West Midlands, and has £17.5m to distribute in loans of between £25,000 and £150,000.
