The Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), delivered by the British Business Bank, will be holding a launch event in Lincolnshire to raise awareness of a £250million funding pot available to businesses in our region.
The fund, provides debt and equity finance to growing small businesses across the Midlands, ranging from £25,000 to £2million.
Ten events will be taking place across the Midlands to launch the fund, which has already received phenomenal interest from local businesses, with tickets now completely sold out for the Lincoln event. The Fund has been established in conjunction with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to provide flexible funding options to small businesses as well as boosting investment levels across the region.
Samantha Harrison, from Business Lincolnshire said: “This fund is an alternative funding avenue for businesses looking to finance their growth plans. We want to encourage businesses in Lincolnshire to explore this opportunity, which is an alternative to high street bank lending or as part of a funding package.”
Business Lincolnshire and the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership will be promoting the fund across the county over the next 12 months. Ursula Lidbetter MBE, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP said: “We are looking forward to hosting this briefing with the British Business Bank and meeting some of the businesses that will be able to benefit from this fund”.
She continued: “This new £250 million fund will provide extra flexibility for SMEs that are looking for finance and boost investment in the Greater Lincolnshire area. I would urge growing businesses to come along and find out what the Midlands Engine Investment Fund has to offer.”
Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Housing Secretary and Ministerial Champion for the Midlands Engine, said “The Midlands Engine already boasts over 14 per cent of the UK’s high-growth businesses and its economy is worth more than £230 billion – larger than countries like Denmark. We want to harness its huge potential and help give small firms across the Midlands that much needed boost to grow their business”.
He continued: “Ensuring every part of the UK can play to its strengths and spread prosperity is central to our Industrial Strategy, and this fund will not only generate jobs to benefit the entire Midlands but, ultimately, the British economy.”
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund will be investing equity finance through designated Fund Managers:
- Midven Ltd will operate a Venture fund focusing on the West Midlands
- Foresight Group LLP, will run a similar fund focused on the East & South-East Midlands
- Mercia Technologies PLC will run a Proof of Concept and Early Stage Equity fund addressing the whole of the Midlands.
These equity funds will be in addition to the £120m of Loan funds, which launched in August last year. These comprise of Small Business Loans Funds operated in the East & South East Midlands by Enterprise Loans East Midlands Ltd and a larger Debt Finance fund operating across the Midlands by Maven Capital Partners UK LLP. For further information on the funding options available, please visit the MEIF website.
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020, the European Investment Bank and the British Business Bank.
