Bradford finance firm to support SMEs through new £29m funding pot

A not for profit finance firm in West Yorkshire is set to support SMEs across the county through a new multi-million pound fund.

Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) has secured access to a £29m funding pot designed for emergency lending for SMEs and social enterprises across the UK who are struggling during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

BEF, which employs 21 staff at its Bradford base, is an accredited partner with the British Business Bank, a subsidiary of the West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and a partner with Unity Trust Bank and Big Society Capital.

The firm, which has delivered three per cent of all loans issued since the government-mandated lockdown began, is one of four organisations that have been given access to the new funding as part of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

Steve Waud, CEO of BEF, commented: “I was staggered that such a small organisation such as ourselves could have provided that many of the loans.

“We have been helping clients all over the UK and have committed to helping as many SMEs as we can with the resources and capital that we have.

“We are in early discussions about sourcing further capital for SMEs - at present we are using as much of the capital that we have available from our impact investors to meet the need.”