BCRS are proud to be a co-operative lender. To celebrate #coopfortnight (20th June – 3rd July) we wanted to give you an insight into what being a co-operative lender means for us here at BCRS Business Loans.
As with all co-operatives BCRS is owned by its members and we are really proud that all of our team are members.
BCRS is a Community Benefit Society which means it conducts business for the benefit of the wider community with profits being reinvested back into the business, rather than being distributed to shareholders. In this case, its ‘community’ consists of West Midlands based businesses and the regional economy.
As a not-for-profit lender, any profits generated, and investments made by its members are reinvested back into BCRS’ loan funds for supplementary lending and will also attract further funding from national government, local authorities and commercial banks – further increasing the lender’s social and economic impact in the West Midlands.
Ultimately, BCRS believes that ‘no viable business should go unsupported’ and focusses on delivering funding into underserved communities, geographies and areas, with 44% of its lending in the 2021/2022 financial year being dispersed into the UK’s most disadvantaged areas.
Stephen Deakin, Chief Executive of BCRS Business Loans, said:
“Social and economic impact is at the heart of everything at BCRS. We measure our successes in terms of our impact on value-added growth for small businesses, the number of jobs safeguarded, new jobs created, and the new products offered to the wider economy.
“We understand that small businesses are the backbone of our economy and a force for social good, which we are committed to doing all we can as a co-operative lender to support their growth and prosperity when traditional lenders can’t.
“To date we are proud to have lent over £78 million to 1,800 SMEs across the West Midlands, which has subsequently protected 9,517 existing jobs, helped to create an extra 5,090 new jobs and generated an additional £404.6 million in value to the West Midlands economy.”
With an experienced and friendly team who really understand the business of business, BCRS can support organisations in ways few other funders can. BCRS understands that applicants appreciate a relationship-based approach to lending, by offering dedicated support throughout the loan application process. Furthermore, an inhouse credit team means that all loan applications are assessed based on their individual merits rather than using computerised credit scoring systems.
To discover more about BCRS Business Loans, please visit our website.
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