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Posted: Mon 27th Nov 2023
The British Business Bank has unveiled a new £130m scheme to provide finance to Welsh small businesses.
The Investment Fund for Wales provides loans and equity investments to help small and medium-sized businesses start and scale.
Three fund managers have been appointed to manage the fund. BCRS Business Loans is in charge of loans from £25,000 to £100,000, FW Capital is responsible for larger loans of £100,000 to £2m, and Foresight is looking after equity investment deals up to £5m.
The funding is aimed at businesses that might otherwise not receive investment, and is designed to help with activities including expansion, product or service innovation, new processes, skills development, and capital equipment.
Louis Taylor, chief executive of the British Business Bank, said:
"Wales is a nation of innovative smaller businesses. These start-ups, scale-ups and established businesses often require initial, or further finance, in order to launch, to maintain momentum, or to develop their full potential.
"This fund, which has been designed specifically for Welsh businesses, is intended to further address the challenges of access to finance and to provide opportunities for business talent in Wales to grow, to develop and to thrive.
"Over the past nine years we have supported thousands of Welsh businesses across urban and rural Wales and with the launch of the Investment Fund for Wales we will be able to go further and deeper, to support hundreds more as they continue to contribute to the ongoing sustainable success of the wider Welsh economy."
The Investment Fund for Wales, which the Bank says is the first solely UK government-backed investment fund for smaller businesses in Wales, is the fourth of six funds set up to even up regional disparities when it comes to accessing business finance.
It follows the launch of a £200m fund for businesses in South West England, a £150m scheme for Scottish businesses and a £70m initiative for businesses in Northern Ireland.
A £400m scheme for businesses in the Midlands and £660m for Northern England opens for applications in 2024.
The schemes were announced by the then chancellor Rishi Sunak in his 2021 Autumn Budget.
