BCRS hits £10 million funding milestone

Published by

Nicky Godding

BCRS Business Loans has delivered £10 million through the Small Business Loan Fund, part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).

The lending milestone follows BCRS providing finance to over 175 businesses located in the West Midlands.

Chief executive of BCRS Business Loans, Stephen Deakin, said: “We are delighted to announce that we have now lent £10 million from the MEIF Small Business Loan Fund in the West Midlands.

“Our investment levels have been strong in each of the six Local Enterprise Partnership areas, demonstrating our commitment to helping small businesses access finance in all corners of the West Midlands – whether rural or urban.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and a force for social good. Improving access to finance not only supports business growth, but also strengthens the local community. To date, the West Midlands MEIF Small business Loan Fund has created 294 jobs and safeguarded over 917. Ultimately, we believe that no viable business should go unsupported.”

Grant Peggie, Director at the British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF Small Business Loan Fund is targeted at start-ups, and more established small businesses looking to grow. These are key moments for a business, and often when many find it difficult to obtain the finance they need.

“By hitting this milestone, BCRS is demonstrating the Fund’s commitment to improving access to finance across the six Midland’s LEP areas by helping over 175 small businesses to manage the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and to support their future growth .”

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

BCRS Business Loans is a co-operative business loan fund run on a non-profit distributing basis. It is owned and run by its Member Investors who elect representatives to the Board of Directors at each Annual General meeting.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.