New member for SME funding scheme

The high street bank will join the 28 other participants in the Department of Trade and Industry-led initiative which offers funding to entrepreneurs who despite having a sound business proposition and satisfying normal lending criteria do not have the necessary security to obtain conventional funds.

 

Under the scheme, the government provides a 75% guarantee on the loan provided by the lender. By sharing the risk, the bank and the government work in partnership to provide access to finance that might otherwise have been denied.

 

Although the scheme, which Alliance & Leicester officially joined on 1 July, hands out millions of pounds every year to UK small business owners, research released earlier this year by Venture Finance showed just 37% of companies were aware of its existence.

 

For more information, follow this link to the DTI website. http://www.dti.gov.uk/bbf/small-business/info-business-owners/access-to-finance/sflg/page37607.html

 

Martin Huckle