New £40m loan fund to fuel small firms’ growth

Enterprise Ventures, which is based in Preston and which specialises in providing finance for small businesses, has launched a new private capital loan fund with £40m backing from Santander and Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

The launch of the new fund brings Enterprise Ventures’ total funds under management to £200m. Chief executive Jonathan Diggines said: “Enterprise Ventures SME Loans represents a significant new institutional source of investment into the SME market, one which is not subject to the constraints of other Government and European funds.

“The backing by Santander UK plc and Greater Manchester Pension Fund supports our aim of providing better access to finance for small businesses and their commitment is highly innovative."

Damian McGann, divisional managing director - North of England at Santander UK Corporate & Commercial, said: “SMEs need access to multiple sources of finance, our support of Enterprise Ventures allows us to fill a gap in the market and provide a breadth of innovative solutions for all ambitious SMEs.

Enterprise Ventures SME Loans are available now to established businesses anywhere in the UK which have been trading for three years or more and which have current or anticipated £100k operating profit and a minimum turnover of £1m. Loans will be available for all purposes, including acquisitions, asset purchases, operational improvement and business development.