£150m fund for SMEs snapped up
A SPECIAL £150m fund set up by Yorkshire Bank to support SMEs during the recession has been snapped up.
The invoice finance fund, which was initially £100m and later extended to £150m, was launched by Yorkshire Bank in 2009 at the height of the recession and has been accessed by existing customers as well as more than 200 SMEs which have joined Yorkshire Bank and represent 20% of its invoice finance portfolio.
The invoice finance fund – issued through Yorkshire Banks’ network of 72 UK financial solutions centres (FSC) – including eight in Yorkshire and the North East – has been accessed by SMEs for uses including freeing up capital held in reserve for business investment and bridging the gap created by late payments caused by the slow down.
The issuing of the fund, about 30% of which has been taken up by businesses in Yorkshire Bank’s East Region which stretches between Newcastle and Norwich, represents a 44% increase in the bank’s invoice finance support.
Head of Yorkshire Bank’s national invoice finance team, Martin Rothera, based in Leeds, said: “We said at the launch that this fund would provide a vital lifeline to many UK SMEs and the fact that we have extended our lending and had total take-up shows this to be the case.
“More significantly, many businesses which have accessed this fund would have found life far harder without it but have been able to gain a competitive edge and will now play a part in driving their local economies forward, creating and preserving jobs as the steady emergence from the downturn continues. Additionally, a number have taken up credit protection to protect their business against bad debts.”
