A specialist training provider for childcare and education professionals is preparing for growth thanks to funding from the Community Investment Enterprise Fund (CIEF) delivered by BCRS Business Loans.
Orange Moon Training secured funds totalling £100,000 to support its strategy of enhancing the delivery of skills training for early years staff and teaching practitioners, which ranges from apprenticeship courses through to senior leadership development.
Led by director Barrington Oliver-Mighten, the business plans to increase its headcount and deliver teaching in more efficient ways including e-learning platforms.
Currently providing work for 34 people, Orange Moon Training is also branching out into international services, having started to deliver pre-school training in India in February.
Originally launched as a childcare provider in 2005, the business, which has its premises in Sherwood Rise, Nottingham, has expanded to offer training beyond the Midlands to the South West of England, London and the North West.
Barrington Oliver-Mighten said:
“The funding from BCRS Business Loans will enable us to deliver on our strategy to grow our business through delivering quality services in more efficient ways.
“We can position ourselves as an innovative training provider by making use of technology such as e-learning platforms.
“We were recommended to speak to BCRS Business Loans through another business loan provider, our neighbour First Enterprise. BCRS Business Loans were very thorough and we were given good support throughout the application process which helped secure the amount we needed.
“The outlook is positive for our business as we can see there will be greater demand for childcare training with more free places being made available under the Government policy. Our sector is always evolving but we can navigate the nuances as we grow.”
David Malpass, Senior Business Development Manager at Wolverhampton-based BCRS Business Loans, who worked on the deal, said:
“As a community lender BCRS Business Loans which aims to support opportunities which benefit the community, we could see Orange Moon Training needed support to make a positive social and economic impact.
“We look forward to seeing Barrington and his colleagues progress in realising their growth plans, providing high quality training for more learners in more ways than ever before to ultimately benefit the wider society.”
Funded by Lloyds Bank along with social impact investor Better Society Capital (BSC) and managed by responsible finance provider Social Investment Scotland (SIS) with contributions from the three participating community development finance institutions, BCRS Business Loans, Business Enterprise Fund and Finance for Enterprise, the £62m CIEF aims to invest in 800 small businesses nationally and support 10,500 jobs.
BCRS Business Loans delivers CIEF loans between £25,000 and £250,000 to SMEs across the Midlands and Wales to SMEs who are unable to access the finance they need from traditional sources.
Alastair Davis, CEO at Social Investment Scotland, said:
“With this backing, Orange Moon Training can grow, employ more staff and upskill more people for careers in childcare and education, helping the economy and society. The CIEF has a key role in fostering growth and creating opportunities within our communities by widening access to finance to support small businesses like Orange Moon Training so we look forward to seeing them progress.”
BCRS Business Loans recently celebrated delivering £6.2m in loans to 75 companies in total, creating 208 jobs and protecting a further 730 roles while generating £32m in added economic value for the West Midlands and Wales. With BCRS Business Loans focussing on firms under-represented in traditional lending, 31 per cent of the SMEs were female-led.
Having launched in 2002, BCRS Business Loans has now passed £100 million in total lending to businesses, generating overall £518 million in economic impact. Up to the end of April 2025, BCRS Business Loans supported 1,594 businesses that were unable to access traditional finance, creating over 5,900 jobs and safeguarding 11,779 existing roles. BCRS Business Loans has achieved one of its best years ever for delivering funds, providing £9,900,502 to 124 businesses during the 2024-25 financial year, a 68% increase in the number of SMEs supported compared to the previous year.
In the last financial year, lending through BCRS Business Loans resulted in the safeguarding of 889 jobs and creation of 317 roles while adding £51.2m to the economy of the West Midlands, surrounding region and Wales. Of the funding, 34.6 per cent went to the UK’s most disadvantaged areas.
BCRS Business Loans was recently appointed as a fund manager for the small funds pot of the first £130m Investment Fund for Wales and for the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, which will deliver a £400m commitment of new funding for businesses across the Midlands.
