The British Business Bank is launching its £400 million Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, unlocking additional funding to help smaller businesses in the Midlands prosper and thrive.
The fund will drive sustainable economic growth “by supporting new and growing businesses across the whole of the Midlands, through investment strategies that best meet the needs of these firms.”
It includes a range of finance options “with loans from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investments up to £5 million to help small and medium-sized businesses start up, scale up, or stay ahead.”
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II aims to “build on the success of the inaugural Midlands Engine Investment Fund, a £300m fund which has already supported 739 smaller businesses since its launch in 2017.”
The new fund will help hundreds more businesses “to achieve their potential and further increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance by providing options to firms that might otherwise be unable to secure investment.”
Funding is designed to “help smaller businesses with activities including expansion, product or service innovation, new processes, skills development and capital equipment.”
Five fund managers have been “appointed to manage the fund. BCRS Business Loans and First Enterprise – Enterprise Loans will manage the smaller loans part of the fund (£25,000 to £100,000), Frontier Development Capital and Maven Capital Partners will be responsible for larger loans (£100,000 to £2 million) and Mercia Ventures will manage equity deals (up to £5 million).”
Louis Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of the British Business Bank, said:
“Small businesses are at the heart of The Midlands’ economy. Since launching in 2017, the first Midlands Engine Investment Fund has so far created more than 4,000 jobs across the region by backing 739 smaller businesses. The first Midlands Engine Investment Fund provided a blueprint for how we can support entrepreneurs and founders, whoever they are and wherever they are in the region, to access the funds and support they need. This new fund will allow us to continue supporting business owners across the Midlands, whether they’re at the start of their journey or are already running an established firm.”
Promoting growth by ensuring entrepreneurs “can access the finance they need regardless of where and who they are is one of the Bank’s strategic objectives, and vital to unlocking the full potential of the UK’s smaller businesses.”
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Gareth Davies MP, said having a fund like this will help small businesses thrive and grow.
Warners, a distillery based in Northamptonshire, “received £1.5m worth of funding from the first Midlands Engine Investment Fund in 2023.”
Following the launch, the British Business Bank will be “holding a series of information roadshows aimed at people working with smaller businesses including enterprise agencies, advisors, accountants, law firms and more.”
The first of these sessions will be “held in Lincoln on 11th March 2024, with additional sessions held in Leicester, Wolverhampton and Coventry, with further locations planned for April and May 2024.”