The British Business Bank has announced a new ENABLE Funding facility to Propel, an independent asset finance provider.
Propel was launched in 1996 to provide accessible finance to SMEs in the UK. Today, Propel has grown to become one of the UK’s largest independent finance houses, working with more than 40,000 businesses
The new facility will allow Propel to provide around £165 million of finance to smaller businesses in the UK, according to the Bank.
The ENABLE Funding program aims to support the British Business Bank’s objective to diversify finance markets for smaller UK businesses – as these firms may struggle to gain access to capital.
The Bank explains that the ENABLE Funding program warehouses newly originated finance receivables from different originators – bringing them together into a new structure. Once the structure has sufficient scale, it will refinance a portion of its funding on the capital markets, helping smaller finance providers to tap into institutional investors’ funds.
Propel has completed its first private securitisation, consisting of £275 million provided by Citibank and a £35 million mezzanine working capital facility provided by Quilam Capital.
Reinald de Monchy, Managing Director, Guarantee and Wholesale Solutions, British Business Bank, commented on the funding:
“We are delighted to be supporting smaller businesses via our ENABLE Funding programme and for Propel Finance to enter in this next stage of its development. Continued funding via ENABLE, as well as Propel’s first refinancing transaction, will allow them to provide smaller businesses with greater access to a wider range of finance options and help create a more diverse finance market.”
Mark Catton, CEO, Propel added that this event marks the latest stage of Propel’s growth in their mission to provide accessible finance to SMEs across the UK.
“We are an important funding partner of the British Business Bank and are excited by the growth opportunities the new funding lines with Citi and Quilam will provide. I should also acknowledge the brilliant work of the Propel team in getting this transaction successfully completed.”
