The British Business Bank has launched its £400 million Midlands Engine Investment Fund II.
MEIF will unlock additional funding to help smaller businesses in the Midlands prosper and thrive.
The fund is a collaboration between the British Business Bank and ten Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).
Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) is among those involved, with other participating LEPs spanning the West Midlands, and East and South East Midlands.
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.
MEIF II aims to build on the success of the original Midlands Engine Investment Fund, a £300m pot which has supported 739 smaller businesses since its launch in 2017.
The new fund will help hundreds more businesses to achieve their potential.
It will also 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.
Louis Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, 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.
The British Business Bank will be holding a series of information roadshows to promote MEIF II.
They will be aimed at people working with smaller businesses including enterprise agencies, advisors, accountants, law firms and more.
Dates and venues will be announced shortly.
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