Government gives £30m to Alternative Business Finance

As part of the £100 million fund to be lent by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) under the Business Finance Partnership (BFP) program, a second tranche of £30 million has been recently released to three additional alternative lenders. The three lenders are namely Beechbrook Capital, URICA, and Market Invoice.  Beechbrook Capital, a mezzanine fund lender will be getting £17 M to be targeted for capital borrowing from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  URICA, on the other hand, would be getting £10 M which the company would put in providing funds for SME suppliers.  While Market Invoice, will be allocated £5 M to offer invoice factoring and invoice discounting services through its online platform.  Aside from the government funds, the three lenders are also seeking to get additional input from private investors that would double the pooled fund to £70 million. This new infusion of capital for alternative lending specifically targets borrowers that cannot avail of business loans from commercial banks and would drastically help the growing SME sector.  The fund also aims to increase the competitiveness of alternative lenders in providing better deals and services to clients. Of the total £100 M to be provided by government, an initial £55 M was released to Funding Circle, Zopa, BOOST&Co, and Credit Asset Management Ltd last December.