Alternative ways of funding business growth
Recent findings from consumer insight consultancy BVA BDRC suggest that 42% of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) use external funding.
The traditional route to lending involves approaching a bank or other traditional lender for a business 
loan or funding package – which continues to be the most common route to finance in the UK today.
However, lending criteria at many traditional lenders is continuing to get tighter and businesses that don’t quite fit within the parameters are finding that they are unable to secure the finance they need – putting growth plans on hold.
So, what other options are available to West Midlands based businesses that are looking to secure funding?
Paul Kalinauckas highlighted that access to finance was a problem for small and medium sized enterprises as early as 2002 and subsequently set up a non-profit-distributing co-operative loan fund, BCRS Business Loans, to help.
Paul said: “SMEs account for 98% of private sector business and are the backbone of our economy, so I saw setting up BCRS Business Loans as a priority.
“BCRS Business Loans support SMEs when traditional lenders can’t, by offering loans from £10,000 to £150,000 across the West Midlands.
“To date we have lent £50 million to over 1,450 businesses that wouldn’t otherwise have been able to access finance.
“Thanks to a customer-centric lending model, which embodies a relationship-based approach to lending, no early repayment fees and a speedy loan process, BCRS Business Loans is going from strength-to-strength. In fact, last year we lent a record £7.2m.
“Social impact is at the heart of everything we do. By placing emphasis on job creation and safeguarding as part of our application process, an extra £258 million* has been generated in the West Midlands economy.
“We are also a fund manager for the Midlands Engine Investment Fund which is a fund set up by the British Business Bank to ‘transform the financial landscape for SMEs’. BCRS deliver the small business loan fund in the West Midlands, which is an excellent option for SMEs that are unable to access finance from traditional lenders.
“There are also other funds to consider from MEIF, such as an Equity fund, a Debt fund and a Proof-of-Concept fund.
To discover more about BCRS Business Loans, visit www.bcrs.org.uk.
*Our economic impact statistics are calculated using the Responsible Finance Economic Impact Calculator. The calculator was originally prepared by the Centre for Business in Society (CBIS), Coventry University with assistance from James Medhurst, ICF International, with the support of Citi. It was updated in 2019 following a review by Marc Cowling, Brighton Business School, Richard Roberts, Aston University and Steve Walker, Aston Reinvestment Trust (ART).
