Community lender BCRS Business Loans has passed the £6 million landmark of lending to generate job creation and economic growth through the Community Investment Enterprise Fund (CIEF).
The company has delivered £6.2 million in loans to 75 companies in total, with £982,000 of the fund supporting 12 Wales-based businesses.
The lending has created 208 jobs and protected a further 730 roles while generating £32 million in added economic value for Wales and the West Midlands. With BCRS Business Loans focusing on firms under-represented in traditional lending, 31 per cent of the SMEs were female-led.
The CIEF was launched last year and backed by Lloyds, the first mainstream lender at scale to finance loans for delivery via socially motivated Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) such as BCRS Business Loans.
The £62 million CIEF, managed by responsible finance provider Social Investment Scotland (SIS), offers investment to businesses unable to access finance from traditional sources. BCRS Business Loans supports the CIEF delivery in the West Midlands and Wales by providing secure loans between £25,000 and £250,000 to enable growth and recovery plans.
Among those to benefit from CIEF funding was the daycare nursery Greenfields Blackwood.
Owner of Greenfields Jason Roberts-Jones said:
“Seeing the nursery come together has been fantastic, and we were delighted to throw open our doors. The support from BCRS Business Loans was great, and without it we wouldn’t have been able to get to this point.
“We offer families in and around Blackwood a nursery that suits their childcare needs locally and can’t wait to enrol more young children and help them learn and grow through play and friendship.”
BCRS Business Loans chief executive Stephen Deakin said:
“Reaching £6 million in lending shows the growing impact we are achieving through the CIEF. The entire BCRS Business Loans team has been dedicated to maximising the CIEF's reach, empowering firms to scale up, making strategic investments and creating job opportunities during these complex economic times.”
The latest CIEF aims to invest in 800 small firms nationally and support 10,500 jobs by using the funds from Lloyds and social impact investor Better Society Capital plus the three CDFIs taking part, BCRS Business Loans, Business Enterprise Fund and Finance for Enterprise.
Alastair Davis, CEO, Social Investment Scotland said:
“Congratulations to BCRS Business Loans for achieving such a significant funding total with the CIEF. Their dedication to helping small businesses in economically disadvantaged areas shows the power of targeted investment in unlocking growth and generating employment within our communities.”
Victoria Crisp, Investment Director at Better Society Capital, added:
“We congratulate BCRS Business Loans for their work at grassroots ensuring the CIEF investment is utilised by small enterprises which need it most, and in so doing, supporting our economy via regional development.”
Working to its goal of ensuring no viable business goes unsupported, BCRS Business Loans is a fund manager for the small funds pot of the first £130 million Investment Fund for Wales and for the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, which will deliver a £400 million commitment of new funding for businesses across the Midlands.
