The British Business Bank’s Investment Fund for Scotland has agreed £5 million of deals to support the growth of small businesses, just six months since the fund was launched to improve access to finance and provide a boost to the Scottish economy.
The milestone comes as five new debt funding deals – managed by FSE Group – have been confirmed “to give businesses in the drinks, healthcare, recruitment, and creative industries access to funding for growth.”
Cosmetic surgery group, Elanic Clinic; oat milk cocktail brand, Panther M*lk; life sciences recruitment firm, Entrust Resource Solutions; graphic design consultancy, John Young Group; and a whisky labelling business “have collectively secured £3.25 million of loans from the fund.”
Earlier this year, the Bank announced “the first equity deals from the Investment Fund for Scotland through fund manager Maven Capital Partners, supporting med-tech firms Carcinotech and Calcivis, while Kedras Clinics benefitted from the first loan from the fund via DSL Business Finance.”
Based in Glasgow city centre, Elanic Clinic plans to “use a £2 million funding package to support the development of its private healthcare facilities on Bath Street, with a new hospital space set to open towards the end of the summer.”
The expansion will see the clinic “open the most advanced operating theatre in the west of Scotland, triple its capacity to treat self-pay and private medical insurance patients and create 75 new jobs over the next couple of years.”
FSE Group and the Investment Fund for Scotland have “provided a welcome boost to help with our expansion project.”
As noted in the update, the facilities will “give the clinic new in-house capabilities to look after patients overnight, as well as enabling us to offer different types of treatments with industry-leading equipment for the likes of keyhole surgery.”
Also in Glasgow, drinks producer Panther M*lk agreed “a £200,000 loan from the Investment Fund for Scotland to support the development of a first-of-its-kind small pack and other products. Over the last year, the business has secured a range of grocery and on-trade listings for all four flavours of its alcoholic oat milk cocktails and is currently in talks with other major retailers to help scale up the brand and reach even more customers.”
The £150 million Investment Fund for Scotland was “launched in October 2023 and offers loans ranging from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investments up to £5 million.”
The fund is part of the British Business Bank’s commitment “to fostering sustainable economic growth by supporting businesses across Scotland.”
Mark Sterritt Director, Nations and Regions Funds, at the British Business Bank said:
“It is great to see the impact that the Investment Fund for Scotland has delivered for smaller businesses across a diverse mix of sectors in only six months. The latest loans via FSE Group bring us to a milestone £5 million, which is helping several businesses to achieve ambitions for growth and expansion. The fund was established to support new and growing businesses with investment strategies that best meet their needs, whoever they are and wherever they are based.”
Operated by the British Business Bank, the Investment Fund for Scotland (IFS) provides a mix of debt and equity funding.
IFS will offer a range of commercial finance options “with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the various support and funding organisations from Scottish government as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support Scotland’s smaller businesses at all stages of their development.”
The funds in which the IFS invests are “open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in all areas of Scotland including but not limited to Northeastern Scotland, Highlands and Islands, Eastern Scotland, West Central Scotland and Southern Scotland.”
Supported by Nations and Regions Investments Limited, a subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the Bank is a development bank “wholly owned by HM Government.”
Neither Nations and Regions Investments Limited nor British Business Bank plc “are authorized or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).”
