BCRS Business Loans surpasses £80 million lending milestone

West Midlands business loan provider BCRS Business Loans is celebrating after surpassing a new funding delivery milestone.

As a community development financial institution (CDFI), BCRS provides loans to viable marginalised businesses unable to secure funding through mainstream lenders. BCRS believes that SMEs are a force for social good; companies use loans to prosper and secure and create jobs for local people, which in turn strengthens the economies of the communities they operate in.

Since the co-operative business loan fund was founded in 2002, it has provided loans worth more than £80 million to businesses across the West Midlands region.

Over 20 years, BCRS funding has supported 1,446 businesses, safeguarded 9,836 jobs and created 5,268 more roles. In total, the lender has invested £82,162,031.

Stephen Deakin, Chief Executive at BCRS Business Loans, said: “I am thrilled to see BCRS achieve this milestone. It has been another challenging year for SMEs across the West Midlands, but, as always, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to supporting them with access to finance.

“With social and economic impact at the heart of everything we do, I am incredibly proud that in the last financial year to March 2022 alone we delivered £8.6 million to 101 businesses, adding £45 million in value to the West Midlands economy.

“We will strive to continue increasing our impact and consider what useful part we can play in the economic, environmental and social challenges faced by the SMEs and communities we support. In the 12 months to March, 44 per cent of our loans went to the businesses in the UK’s top 35 per cent most disadvantaged areas.

“We believe that no viable business should go unsupported. We have been levelling up before it became a catch-phrase, and with turbulent economic times on the horizon we are here to help. As we demonstrated during the coronavirus pandemic, when times are tough, BCRS really steps up to the mark.”

BCRS offers loans from £10,000 to £150,000 to businesses based in the West Midlands. Most business sectors are eligible, and loans can support a wide variety of purposes.