Hundreds of businesses interested in investment fund
Scores of businesses from across the South West have already expressed their interest in the new £200m investment fund.
The government-backed fund South West Investment Fund, which was unveiled last month by the British Business Bank, aims to increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for new and growing smaller businesses across the region.
It operates throughout the South West, encompassing Bristol, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire.
Since its launch in the first week of July at M-Shed in Bristol, over 350 businesses have expressed an interest in applying to the fund, and more than 300 delegates have attended a series of regional roadshows explaining what the fund is all about, and how businesses can apply via the fund’s dedicated fund managers.
SWIF offers a diverse range of commercial finance options ranging from small loans from £25,000 to equity investments of £5 million, for companies at all stages of development. It aims to fill the gaps in available finance options in the South West and empower businesses, both those located in busy hubs and in harder-to-reach locations, to unlock their potential.
Louis Taylor, chief executive of the British Business Bank said: “The response to the launch of the South West Investment Fund has been hugely encouraging and has come from all across the region.
“The level of enquiries our fund managers have already received shows there is demand from growing businesses across the South West for more finance options at every business stage, and that’s exactly what the fund will provide.”
Christine Alison, chair of the South West Investment Group and a governor of Plymouth University, attended the SWIF launch.
She said: “The South West Investment Fund is going to bring much needed additional capital into the region. It can change the way we do business in the South West and it can help grow a financial ecosystem that is more appropriate to the needs of the SMEs that we have in the region.”
Also supporting the fund is Katherine Bennett, chair of the Western Gateway.
She said: “This £200m investment fund for the South West will be hugely helpful. We speak to businesses who really don’t know where to go for help and support, so the British Business Bank, with its national heft, its website and government support, is a really important partner here in the Western Gateway area and beyond, so businesses can know where to go for support.”
SWIF is the first in a series of six new Nations and Regions Investment Funds being launched by the British Business Bank, the government-owned business development bank.
A total of £1.6bn has been committed to the new funds to drive sustainable economic growth, which was first announced by the government in the 2021 Spending Review. SWIF is managed by a team of four fund managers that have been appointed by the British Business Bank including SWIG Finance, FW Capital, Maven and the FSE Group.
