Cash in on loan fund
A new source of funding announced by the Scottish Government could be good news for many SMEs which have found it difficult to secure funding through traditional banking routes.
The Scottish Loan Fund (SLF), worth £55 million, is now open to applications for loans from eligible businesses across Scotland. It will provide loans of between £250,000 and £5 million and will target those companies which demonstrate growth or the intention to grow and also firms involved in exporting, as they are deemed to have the most to contribute to Scotland’s economic growth.
The SLF will be managed by independent fund managers, Maven Capital Partners, who are developing an increased presence in Scotland specifically for that purpose. Further work is ongoing with the potential to bring in further considerable private sector investment to boost the SLF even further.
The difficulties which many firms have faced in trying to access the funding they need to grow their business emerged as one of the key issues for Chamber members and the wider business community during the recession and economic downturn.
Earlier this year, the Chamber hosted a visit from Michael Moore, Secretary of State for Scotland. Chamber representatives who met with Mr Moore briefed him on a number of key issues facing North-east businesses – including concerns over the continuing difficulties which many companies faced in trying to secure funding.
At the meeting, Chamber Board member Scott Taylor of Hall-Morrice, drew attention to possible alternatives to the conventional bank lending route and particularly highlighted the “mezzanine” type funding gap which existed between that and funding through venture capital and private equity.
This new SLF fits neatly into that niche and, with greater publicity and a higher profile has the potential to be even more successful than its predecessor, the Capital For Enterprise Scheme which was lesser known and publicised.
The great majority of loans will be for amounts of less than £2m and most loans will have repayment terms of between three and seven years.
For further information on the fund, call the dedicated helpline on 0844 573 8460, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm or e-mail directly to Maven Capital Partners UK LLP at enquiries@mavencp.com.
And finally... a business story which positively blooms with the joys of spring...
The emergence of the first snowdrops poking their heads through the ground in the early part of the year is a welcome sight; a visible sign that we’ve made it through another winter and that spring is just around the corner.
But there’s more to the tiny white flower than just its ability to generate a feelgood factor. The snowdrop – family name Galanthus - was one of the early business successes of 2011, an excellent example of a product meeting the demands of a very select niche market and commanding a price to reflect that.
One tiny, single bulb of the rare, much sought after snowdrop variety Galanthus plicatus EA Bowles has sold for £357 on eBay creating a new world record. Previous to that, the most that any Galanthophile (snowdrop collector) had paid for a single bulb was £265 in 2008.
The current popularity of the flower means that individual bulbs regularly fetch upwards of £100 and with 19 different species and more than 1,500 hybrids there are plenty to choose from.
But the Galanthus in all its variations still has a way to go before it matches the frenzied days of tulip collecting in 17th century Holland when bulbs were traded on the Stock Exchange and a particularly rare variety sold for 6,000 florins – 30 times the average annual wage.
Flower power indeed.
Kate Yuill, Policy and Communications Manager |
