The British Business Bank increased its ENABLE Funding commitment to Simply Asset Finance, a UK independent asset finance provider. It allows Simply Asset Finance to provide more than £175 million of finance to smaller businesses across the UK. A portion of the funding has been refinanced through private securitizations as part of a wider transaction, which will provide around £0.7bn of funding to businesses across the UK.
Simply Asset Finance is an independent non-bank lender and equipment finance company established in April 2017. It provides funding to small and medium-sized businesses to help them purchase equipment, free up working capital and invest in growth through its hire purchase, leasing and refinancing products. They range from a few thousand pounds to more than £1m.
The company has been a participant in the ENABLE Funding programme since December 2017. Through five rounds of financing, Simply Asset Finance has provided more than £300 million of funding to smaller businesses across the UK via ENABLE.
Launched in 2014, the ENABLE Funding programme supports the British Business Bank’s key objective to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK by supporting access to finance for smaller businesses. It warehouses newly originated finance receivables from participating originators. Once the portfolio has sufficient scale, it aims to refinance a portion of its funding on the capital markets, helping smaller finance providers to tap into institutional investors’ funds.
“Completing this increased ENABLE Funding commitment to Simply Asset Finance will unlock significant capital for smaller businesses,” said Reinald de Monchy, co-chief banking officer for products at the British Business Bank. “Importantly, the partial refinancing of Simply’s facility will bring in private sector funding for their existing book and allow us to continue to provide Simply with new funding to support smaller business investment and growth.”
“There remains huge potential in the small and medium-sized business market, so the increased ENABLE Funding commitment will be a vital tool for us to help unlock growth for those firms across the country that need it most,” added Simply Asset Finance CFO Stefan Wolvaardt. “At the core of our business is a commitment to supporting the sustainable growth of businesses across the UK, so we’re incredibly pleased to continue working with the British Business Bank to deliver this vital funding stream.”
