News and Events

 £1 million lifeline for Staffordshire businesses goes live

The authority’s cabinet member for economy, skills and enterprise, Mike Lawrence, said the initiative was central to the drive to support Staffordshire businesses, the economy and jobs.

“Access to money is a real issue for small businesses. We want to help address this problem,” he said. “This is about extending support to those who are already running a sound business but need working capital in this time of tight finance.

“Businesses will have to have a compelling business case and a sound business plan.

“This is all about providing Staffordshire’s business talent with the support it needs in a time of austerity.

“It’s a cash injection that will pay for itself and double its value for the people of Staffordshire with match funding.

“As the companies succeed and pay back their loans, a proportion of the money can be recycled again to generate more success and new jobs.

“This is about making the tax payers’ money continue to work hard to benefit the economy.”

£750,000 Loan fund for Sandwell Business

A loan fund set up by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and partners means that businesses across Sandwell will be able to benefit from better access to finance.

A loan fund of £750,000 has been pulled together from Council, European and Advantage West Midlands sources. The cash will be made available exclusively for Sandwell businesses having difficulty in raising the funds they need from high-street banks during the credit crunch.

Loans of between £10,000 and £50,000 will be made available to viable Sandwell businesses through the Black Country Reinvestment Society (BCRS).

The BCRS is a mutual friendly society that has already lent over £270,000 to Sandwell businesses since the credit crunch started.

"We are delighted that Sandwell Council has taken this initiative to help its local businesses. With the additional funding we will be able to help even more businesses who have been rejected by the banks," said Paul Kalinauckas, chief executive of BCRS.

"Entrepreneurs need access to finance for their businesses and even in these difficult times we have been able to step in where the banks have not been able to help."

Councillor Ann Shackleton, cabinet member for employment, skills and partnerships, said: "Despite the recession Sandwell has some amazing businesses with great potential to help us pull out of the recession and create the jobs we desperately need.

"For some it is proving really difficult to get loans, either because they are new and don’t have a track record, or the recession has badly affected the recent trading position.

"In addition to all the other support Sandwell Council is offering to our local business community, we are pleased to be doing what we can to ensure viable businesses have better access to the finance they need now the economy is starting to pick up."

The new funding will be available from 1st October. Any Sandwell business wishing to apply for a loan should contact BCRS’s local Business Development Manager, Tony Wood, on 07792131735

"The Loan Arrangers"

Vending Services lands £300k contract with help from BCRS

Jun 1 2009 by GraemeBrown

An established Midlands vending company has expanded its business and won a major contract thanks to help from a Wolverhampton-based business loans company.

Vending Services has supplied Smethwick-based engineering company Hadley Industries Holdings Ltd with refreshment and snack vending machines at its sites across Smethwick and the Black Country in a contract worth an estimated £300,000 per annum.

David Gribble, managing director of Vending Services, based in Codsall, south Staffs, said: “I’ve been in vending for 26 years and it’s all about quality of product. The best machines are made here in the UK and we supply machines made by Coffee Tech and stock them with established brands including Nescafe Gold Blend, PG Tips and Fair Trade tea as well as Coca Cola and leading brands of confectionery. Low-calorie Options hot chocolate is one of our best sellers.”

Vending Services has not seen a significant drop in customers using its services. “We haven’t noticed the effect of the economic downturn so far,” said Mr Gribble. “Some of our sites dropped by around 15 per cent initially but are now back to normal levels. Every five years we renew contracts with our customers and supply them with the latest machines. We believe we offer a high level of aftercare, with constant re-stocking of machines and a breakdown service that promises a response within 20 minutes.

“Refreshment vending is great for both staff and the employer – it’s clean, fast and efficient. Health and safety laws mean that kettles have been banished from many work areas; also in-house vending cuts down on time spent getting refreshments.

“We have been supplying Hadley Industries for over seven years. Their contract renewal coincided with the opportunity to move the business forward as I wanted to expand our range of vending machines including the very latest models.

“I approached all of the banks but they couldn’t help – they are just not lending at the moment. So I approached Paul Kalinauckas at the Black Country Reinvestment Society. I remembered the organisation from five years previous, through Black Country Chamber of Commerce.

“Paul came out to see the quality of the product and to hear about our plans. He could see we were well established and that we understood both our market and our customer, and agreed to loan the company £25,000 to purchase new equipment.”

Mr Gribble said BCRS were “so positive” about Vending Services’ application from the outset, and helped it through “the maze of business planning and cashflow”.

He added: “The rest was easy – our loan is over three years but we are on target to pay it off within 18 months.”

Mr Kalinauckas, chief executive of BCRS, said: “Vending Services is typical of many companies that BCRS have loaned to recently. They have an excellent, tried and tested product, a tight business plan, an established, happy client base and a pedigree in their sector that goes back decades. And still the banks are refusing to lend. There is no doubt in my mind that Vending Services would have lost their contract with Hadley had we not been able to lend the £25,000, resulting in a contract between two local businesses going outside of this region.”

BCRS loan helps Wolverhampton supplier MCS to rise again

May 6 2009 by Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post

Black Country Reinvestment Society (BCRS) has helped a construction company to turn its fortunes from disaster to a £5 million turnover in two years.

MCS Ltd, which employs 25 people across two sites, is a Wolverhampton-based supplier and manufacturer of specialist products to the construction industry which has worked on complex projects including St Pancras International station – home of the Eurostar Channel Tunnel rail link.

Phil McDonald, founder and managing director of MCS Ltd, has 20 years’ experience in the construction industry and is no stranger to its unpredictable nature.

Read more..... 

Staircase firm Climb with Reinvestment group’s help

Apr 27 2009 by Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post

Black Country Reinvestment Society (BCRS) has helped a Brownhills-based staircase manufacturer to diversify into high-end interiors for the domestic and corporate markets.

BCRS has loaned Lichfield Staircase Manufacturers £25,000 to develop the company’s bespoke staircase range for architects and interior designers.

 Feb 25 2009 by Tom Scotney, Birmingham Post

 While global financial institutions are struggling, one local success story says it is set to see strong growth in 2009.

The Birmingham-based Unity Trust Bank, which focuses largely on services for the social economy and SMEs, has seen record lending to commercial enterprises, along with strong growth in its regular areas.

Read more.....

Midland Investment Chief defends high cost of loans

 Feb 24 2009 by John Cranage, Birmingham Post

The head of a West Midland mutual set up to help finance small businesses has defended the high rates of interest it charges on loans.

The Black Country Reinvestment Society, a not-for-profit organisation set up to help companies turned down for loans by banks, charges borrowers 12 per cent interest on average, according to chief executive Paul Kalinaukas. “The days of cheap money are over,” he said.

Read more.....

Time for a new financial world order

Feb 12 2009 Agenda By Paul Kalinauckas
Now the country is officially in recession, the rules of the finance game have changed and it’s important for businesses to know how to get through this to the best of their abilities.
The United Kingdom’s economy is built on small businesses. Until very recently, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have bounced in and out of their overdraft facility to enable them to run smoothly.
In the good times, they’d have taken out healthy dividends and managed their businesses according to the ebb and flow of their sector. It’s now a different game and we are witnessing perfectly viable businesses having their financial arrangements pulled or varied to reduce their overdrafts, some without notice. That’s a practice that can kill a viable business stone-dead in 24 hours.

Read more.......

Stafford firm shunned by banks finds new backer for growth plan

Jan 6 2009 by Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post
The credit crunch has seen access to finance become increasingly difficult for even the most viable of businesses. For those still finding their feet or challenged by issues such as seasonality, raising capital can be nigh on impossible.
One of the of the solutions to this problem is the growing number of Community Development Finance Institutions that have thrown open their doors to companies struggling to raise finance through traditional avenues.
One company that has turned to a CDFI after being turned away by the banks is Stafford-based River Canal Rescue Service.
River Canal Rescue Service is a waterway rescue service for boats and boaters that was founded after mechanical engineer Trevor Forman spotted a gap in the market to provide inland waterway craft with a breakdown rescue service. Alongside his partner Stephanie Horton, Mr Forman founded the company in 2000.

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BCRS's credit deal with Co-operative Bank

Black Country Reinvestment Society, (BCRS) the Wolverhampton community finance institution, have welcomed the establishment of a credit deal with the Co-operative Bank.
Read more......

Black Country Reinvestment Society doubles loans to small business

Dec 2 2008 by Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post
BLACK Country Reinvestment Society (BCRS), the business loans company based in Wolverhampton, hase celebrated doubling its lending to small businesses affected by the credit crunch to over £1million this year.
Read more........

£1m of loans coming up for grabs

Burton Mail 19/10/2009

STAFFORDSHIRE County Council is backing plans to provide £1million of loans for small businesses with good ideas but a lack of funds.
The council says it is determined to support businesses and jobs through the recession, with the aim of keeping Staffordshire in poll position to succeed as the economy gets back on track.
The new fund will invest in future jobs and entrepreneurial energy, creating a feedback loop of positive impacts for Staffordshire’s economy.
The council is linking up with the Black Country Reinvestment Society (BCRS) to create the Staffordshire Business Support Fund.
Staffordshire County Council will provide £500,000 of funding which will be matched by European Regional Development Fund money provided by Advantage West Midlands.
From November BCRS will be able to provide loans to small businesses of £10,000 to £50,000 which will be repayable over a four year period.
Companies will have to be based in Staffordshire, employ fewer than 50, and have been turned down by the conventional banks.