Picture ( L-R) BCRS Business Development Manager, Kathy Poole for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent  and Councillor Mark Winnington.

Small businesses located across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent can access loans between £10,000 and £50,000 to help support their development and expansion.

There’s no longer any boundary confusion – business loans are available to any viable small business that is having difficulty accessing finance.  If your business has less than 50 employees and has been turned away by main stream lenders such as banks, then BCRS may be able to help. 

BCRS Chief Executive, Paul Kalinauckas encourages businesses to get in touch:

‘Financial help is at hand.  Here at BCRS, we understand that getting business finance can sometimes be a problem, even if you have the potential to grow.  We offer an alternative source of finance to enable you to progress your business’ development plans.  I would encourage you to pick up the phone or complete a fast track enquiry form to see if we can help and the Business Development Managers will support you through the efficient application process that we offer’.   

The message is clear – two Councils, Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council have contributed a collective £1m, matched by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to make a total of £2m available for lending to small businesses across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.    

At the National Start-Up Britain event held in Stafford, Councillor Mark Winnington acknowledged and praised the level of support offered by the various organisations present at the event and reiterated the value that the loan fund brings to small businesses across the county:

‘Staffordshire has always been an enterprising county and we are committed to support people looking to start or strengthen their business.  Our loans continue to successfully help businesses to grow by providing this vital source of finance.  I would urge anyone that has recently been turned away by their conventional lenders to get in touch with Kathy at BCRS on 0845 313 8410 or 07813 621 409 to see if they can help’.

The Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Business Loan Fund project is part financed by the West Midlands European Regional Development Programme 2007 to 2013.  The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.communities.gov.uk/erdf