Cable kickstarts SME growth drive with £45m for Business Bank

THE Government has launched a new campaign to drive SME growth, including the first tranche of funding from the new British Business Bank.

The first £45m of funding is to be committed to Praesidian Capital Europe (£30m) and BMS Finance (£15m) to provide debt finance of approximately £125m through their respective new funds. Both funds are set to start lending to small businesses in early 2014.

Although the funding is nationwide, the Department for Business said that an estimated 481,000 private sector businesses in the North West,  could benefit from the new initiatives.

Business Secretary Vince Cable also unveiled: a new £1m Sector Mentoring Challenge Fund to enable firms to benefit from support and; a £10m synthetic biology start up fund from the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBSRC) to help entrepreneurial scientists working in synthetic biology get their business off the ground.

Dr Cable said: ““Today we have set out a comprehensive package of measures that will address the concerns of small firms.

“The first investments from the British Business Bank’s investment programme will provide choice to smaller businesses looking to secure vital finance to help invest. Alongside cutting red tape and increasing the take up of business rate relief, Government has already made significant progress in improving the business outlook for small firms and entrepreneurs.”

A new business support website, greatbusiness.gov.uk will also make it easy to access the services and products, including Manufacturing Advice Service, National Apprenticeship Service and Growth Accelerator, that help businesses grow.

The website will be supported by an advertising campaign showcasing the very best in British small businesses, to help inspire other small businesses to take steps to grow.