New funding platform for SMEs in Leeds City Region launches

From today (10 September 2015) SMEs in the region will be provided with a much easier way to navigate over 70 traditional and alternate funders to find the right lender for their circumstances.

Working in partnership with the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and professional services firm PwC, the Finpoint funding platform has been launched to provide a new way for SMEs to find the finance in order to grow their business.

The Finpoint platform allows businesses to prepare one, anonymous, funding application that can be shared with over 70 lenders, including banks, specialist finance houses and alternative finance providers, at no direct cost to the business.

SMEs are notified of lender interest and then choose the funder(s) they wish to negotiate with.

Established in Germany in 2010, the platform has been used by over 5000 SMEs in Germany with over €200m being raised last year.

The platform also showcases the services already available through the LEP and its partners to support business growth across the City Region, including the LEP’s own finance and skills products and national services such as UKTI, Innovate UK and the Business Growth Service.

Rainer Plentl, Finpoint CEO, commented: “Finpoint is a proven platform which we have adapted to the specific needs of UK SMEs seeking funding. The platform allows SMEs to be in control of the process of finding finance and gives them access to alternative lenders, including crowdfunding platforms, and existing funders such as banks and challenger banks that operate in specific niches of the lending market.”

Rob Norreys, LEP Director, said: “Leeds City Region boasts over 100,000 SMEs who are vital to our economy, but we know from our recent business survey that access to finance can be a major barrier to growth for companies in the region.

“Our partnership with Finpoint and PwC, will help businesses reach over 70 lenders quickly and easily and identify those interested in lending to them.

“We know that it is not a ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to business growth. The Finpoint platform gives businesses an alternative way of finding the right finance to meet their growth ambitions and supports the LEP’s ambition of driving economic growth across the City Region.”

Stuart Howie, director at PwC, added: “SMEs are a key part of the economy and we want to make it easier for them to grow and succeed. We know that access to finance can often hold back SME development and believe the platform can really help them by putting alternate financing routes alongside traditional lenders.

“We see our partnership with the LEP and Finpoint as a natural step to help local SMEs and one that builds on our own SME MyFinanceparter service launched last year.”

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