Finance Birmingham targets high growth businesses with new £9m fund

FUNDING body, Finance Birmingham, is targeting high growth businesses in the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership area with a new £9m loan scheme.

The loan and equity fund is being made available to companies which can demonstrate a track record and plan for growth.

Finance Birmingham, which is the funding arm of Birmingham City Council and which delivers national funding streams such as the Advance Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative, said businesses across all sectors would be considered for support.

The funding will be used for development purposes, as a boost to working capital, new capital expenditure, increasing staffing numbers or growth opportunities such as new acquisitions.

However, FB, based in Baskerville House in Birmingham, has stipulated that the plan must promise new jobs or safeguard existing workers and that the applicant is a limited company.

Funding of between £50k and £1m will be supplied in the form of loan or equity investments.

All applications must be supported with a three-year business plan and financial forecasts, which the fund manager said would be crucial in determining whether finance was provided or not.

Andy Street, chairman of the GBSLEP, said the partnership had proven it was capable of getting money to businesses quickly.

“The £19m allocated from the Regional Growth Fund for the Green Bridge Supply Chain Programme was fully committed to growing West Midlands companies and the scheme has had to be extended using European money to meet demand,” he said.

“Shortly, along with the Black Country LEP we will be launching the Mezzanine Fund using investment from the last (RGF) round.

“The continued investment from RGF will help the LEP continue the trend of falling unemployment as we move towards the Local Growth Fund.”

 

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