The Government are keen to claw the economy out of the current recession. As a result, more and more measures and schemes are being developed to help new businesses and SMEs to survive and grow. After the Government bailed out the major banks when they were in financial difficulties, they made it clear that they would be expected to lend money and offer support to SMEs.
Recently the Business Finance Taskforce published a report detailing proposed “actions designed to help business thrive and grow”. This report includes 17 specific actions which can be seen on the British Bankers’ Association’s website and are aimed at things like improving relations, easing access to funding and providing better information to customers.
The most significant actions are the new £1.5 billion Business Growth Fund and the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme.
£1.5 billion Business Growth Fund
A proposal has been put in place to develop a fund of around £1.5 billion (over the next few years) to provide finance and investment for viable businesses and SMEs. As the name implies, the Business Growth Fund is intended to support established businesses that are looking to grow rather than newly formed limited companies or small businesses.
The fund is apparently aimed at supplying funding between £10million and £100million to those viable businesses seeking this sort of investment in order to grow. Of course, the numbers will be limited and the businesses that actually need financial support, i.e. those in their first years of trading, will probably miss out.
The aim is to have the fund up and running by April next year. Yet, some feel that the proposed £1.5billion fund is not enough.
Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme
The Business Finance Taskforce also proposed continued support for the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme, which is intended to provide guaranteed funding for small business through loans and overdraft consolidation. Supplied by a number of leading banks this scheme allows eligible businesses to borrow anywhere from £1,000 to £1million where they might not otherwise have been able to.
The combination of these two actions and the further proposals listed by the Business Finance Taskforce should be enough to offer extra support to new business and growing SMEs.
If you’re unsure about the business finance available to you, why not let us help you by using our Business Finance Database search service. Only 60 seconds of your time to find the perfect financial support for your business or limited company.
Further reading:
- Small businesses to benefit from £1.5bn fund
- UK banks propose £1.5bn fund for small businesses
- Business Finance – Top 10 ways to fund your new business
- Enterprise Finance Guarantee (BIS)
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