A fund delivered by West Midlands based alternative lender BCRS Business Loans has reached a £4 million milestone.
The lender said that the Community Investment Enterprise Facility (CIEF) has now supported the growth of over 87 small and medium sized businesses to the tune of £4 million since it was launched in December 2018.
The facility has been a hit with West Midlands based businesses that continue to find it difficult to secure finance from traditional lenders.
CIEF was the brainchild of Big Society Capital and is managed by Social Investment Scotland and delivered on a local level to businesses in the West Midlands by BCRS Business Loans.
Discussing the lending milestone Sarah Moorhouse, Operations and Marketing Director at BCRS Business Loans, said:
“Thanks to initiatives such as CIEF and non-profit lenders like BCRS Business Loans, 87 businesses have been able to grow, prosper and achieve their business aspirations when traditional lenders were unable to help.
“We believe in SMEs and understand that supporting them will provide a significant boost to the West Midlands regional economy.
“We are delighted to share that by lending £4 million we have helped to create and safeguard 760 jobs for local people. Furthermore, this has generated an extra £25.1 million of additional value in our regional economy, which we are incredibly proud of.
“BCRS has been established for over eighteen years and during that time we have always championed a relationship-based approach to lending, where we meet our customers face-to-face and dedicated Business Development Managers offer hands on support throughout the loan application process.”
Commenting on BCRS’s deployment of the CIEF Fund Alastair Davis, Chief Executive at Social Investment Scotland, said:
“It is a real pleasure to see the difference BCRS is making to the organisations to which it lends through deployment of the CIEF fund. To achieve this milestone, it is a real credit to the team and to their customers who are delivering impact in their local communities.”
BCRS Business Loans offer loans from £10,000 to £150,000.
To discover more about BCRS Business Loans or to submit an online initial application form in just two minutes, visit www.bcrs.org.uk.
