Key small business finance campaign launched

A major campaign has been launched across Shropshire to help small businesses gain the finance they need to grow.

The Marches Growth Hub, the one stop shop business support service for the region, says its Get Finance initiative will help small and micro-businesses unlock new and alternative funding streams to aid their development.

Get Finance will feature a series of events and workshops organised or hosted by the business support teams in Telford and Shrewsbury, culminating in a high-profile Access to Finance event being staged in early 2019.

Paul Kalinauckas is the Marches LEP board member championing the Access to Finance campaign. He said a lack of funding was still a major issue for small businesses in the region

“Since the credit crunch when banks changed their credit criteria, a significant Alternative Finance sector has developed. There has been an explosion in the number of players in this sector, from peer to peer lenders, equity funds, invoice discounters and crowd funders to locally-based small business loan funds.

“But it can be difficult for small businesses to know where to start to gain access to some of these services, which is where the Get Finance campaign will help. Businesses in the Marches which are eligible for grant funding can apply for up to £167,000 and there are also a host of other loan options including the Midlands Engine Investment Fund.”

The campaign is being launched as the Marches LEP prepares to hold an Access To Finance Summit specifically for advisors and professionals working with businesses, to demonstrate the wealth of funding options available for businesses with high growth potential.

Paul added: “We do need to reach the intermediaries already working with businesses so they can help spread the word about the options available. The Access to Finance Summit in Telford is a dedicated event for key players in the funding, legal and banking sectors to discuss alternative finance and hear a keynote speech from business funding expert Norman Price OBE.”  

Mr Price is the former chair of the West Midlands Regional Finance Forum and now a board member at BCRS Business Loans. He has worked in industry at directorship level and more recently as a key influencer in public policy both nationally and in the West Midlands.

The summit will be held from 11.30am to 3pm at the University of Wolverhampton’s Telford campus on November 7.

To register your interest in attending the Access to Finance Summit go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/marches-lep-access-to-finance-summit-tickets-50062913522

Pictured: Paul Kalinauckas