{"id":427701,"date":"2011-05-21T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-05-21T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/21\/uk-banks-back-4bn-fund-for-small-businesses\/"},"modified":"2011-05-21T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-05-21T06:00:00","slug":"uk-banks-back-4bn-fund-for-small-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/21\/uk-banks-back-4bn-fund-for-small-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"UK banks back $4bn fund for small businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n<\/p>\n

Five of Britain\u2019s top banks are backing a \u00a32.5bn fund ($4bn) launched on Thursday to invest in small and medium-sized businesses that are struggling to attract financing, Reuters reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Business Growth Fund, which will target businesses with an annual turnover of \u00a310m to \u00a3100m, follows the \u201cProject Merlin\u201d deal between Britain and its banks to curb their bonuses and lend more in the wake of a sharp downturn in business lending after the credit crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Project Merlin, which involved Barclays, HSBC and part-nationalised lenders Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, would see top banks lend about \u00a3190bn to business this year, up from about \u00a3179bn.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those four banks, along with Standard Chartered, are backing the independent BGF, which will invest long-term capital of around \u00a32m to \u00a310m per business in return for an equity stake of at least 10 per cent and a seat on the board for one of the fund\u2019s directors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies of this size have often struggled to secure financing to support their growth plans — too big for start-up funding and too small to tap into larger commercial funding,\u201d Fund Chief Executive, Mr. Stephen Welton, said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not only provide longer-term finance but will also offer ongoing help and advice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The fund, currently a 30-person team, will work with the British Bankers\u2019 Association, and have offices in London, Birmingham and Edinburgh.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Read the article:
\nUK banks back $4bn fund for small businesses<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Five of Britain\u2019s top banks are backing a \u00a32.5bn fund ($4bn) launched on Thursday to invest in small and medium-sized businesses that are struggling to attract financing, Reuters reported. The Business Growth Fund, which will target businesses with an annual turnover of \u00a310m to \u00a3100m, follows the \u201cProject Merlin\u201d deal between Britain and its banks to curb their bonuses and lend more in the wake of a sharp downturn in business lending after the credit crisis. Project Merlin, which involved Barclays, HSBC and part-nationalised lenders Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, would see top banks lend about \u00a3190bn to business this year, up from about \u00a3179bn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-427701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-politics"},"yoast_head":"\nUK banks back $4bn fund for small businesses - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/21\/uk-banks-back-4bn-fund-for-small-businesses\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"UK banks back $4bn fund for small businesses - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Five of Britain\u2019s top banks are backing a \u00a32.5bn fund ($4bn) launched on Thursday to invest in small and medium-sized businesses that are struggling to attract financing, Reuters reported. 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