皇冠体育app

Business Secretary Vince Cable today (6 November 2013) kicked off a wave of activity to boost small businesses, including unveiling the first funding allocation from the British Business Bank鈥檚 investment programme and launching a campaign to help small firms grow.

皇冠体育app first 拢45 million of funding is to be committed to Praesidian Capital Europe (拢30 million) and BMS Finance (拢15 million) to provide debt finance of approximately 拢125 million through their respective new funds. Once legal terms are agreed it is expected that both funds will start lending to small businesses in early 2014.

In addition to this, Vince Cable also set out other measures that will provide support to small businesses. 皇冠体育appse include:

• a new 拢1 million Sector Mentoring Challenge Fund that will enable firms to benefit from support and advice from experienced business people in their own field of work
• a 拢10 million synthetic biology start up fund from the (BBSRC) to help entrepreneurial scientists working in synthetic biology get their business off the ground
• the successful , which provides specialised coaching to small businesses with high-growth potential, will have helped 10,000 firms in the coming weeks.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

Today we have set out a comprehensive package of measures that will address the concerns of small firms.

皇冠体育app first investments from the British Business Bank鈥檚 investment programme will provide choice to smaller businesses looking to secure vital finance to help invest. Alongside cutting red tape and increasing the take up of business rate relief, government has already made significant progress in improving the business outlook for small firms and entrepreneurs.

A new business support website, will also make it easy to access the services and products, including , and , that help businesses grow. 皇冠体育app website will be supported by an advertising campaign showcasing the very best in British small businesses, to help inspire other small businesses to take steps to grow. This is the first domestic use of the GREAT campaign.

Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock said:

Small firms are a vital driver of our economy鈥檚 success, so it is imperative we do all we can to ensure businesses don鈥檛 just survive, but thrive to compete in the global race.

We have set out today the start of our ambitious plans to help small businesses realise their potential and the support available to them to help them grow. Government has an important role in providing a coherent package of measures to support businesses, but there is also a role for business-to-business support, with successful, growing small businesses talking to others about how exporting, hiring and business planning can take a business to the next level.

In December a cross-government strategy on small business support will be published. 皇冠体育appre are 4.9 million small businesses in the UK, and providing them with the tools they need to thrive is an important task for government to ensure the recovery of the economy. 皇冠体育app strategy will be aimed at small businesses with the ambition to grow, setting out how it will make it easier for them to do so through a range of measures, including improving access to finance and help to export and innovate.

Notes to editors:

1. 皇冠体育app Business is and small business support measures were announced at an event at the British Library鈥檚 Business and IP Centre. is the national library of the UK and one of the world鈥檚 greatest libraries. , based at St Pancras in London, opened in March 2006 with the help of London Development Agency funding. Since then, it has welcomed over 350,000 people through the doors and has an excellent track record in supporting entrepreneurs and SMEs from all walks of life to start and grow businesses. 皇冠体育app Centre provides free access to an unparalleled resource of business and intellectual property information (over 拢5 million worth), supplemented by one-to-one advice clinics, practical workshops and networking events, featuring 鈥榬ole model鈥� entrepreneurs.

2. Today鈥檚 announcement that the British Business Bank is investing 拢45 million to boost finance for small businesses is the first allocation of funds from the bank鈥檚 拢300 million investment programme launched in April.

3. 拢30 million of funding is to be commited to Praesidian Capital Europe, which is expanding its successful US model including the launch of a new fund to provide senior and mezzanine debt finance to smaller and medium sized UK businesses. At first close, the fund size will be 拢96 million.

4. A further 拢15 million will be invested through BMS Finance, an independent, specialist finance company, focused on lending to smaller and medium sized UK businesses with high growth potential and nearing profitability. At first close, the fund size will be 拢30 million.

5. 皇冠体育app British Business Bank will support economic growth by bringing together public and private sector funds to create more effective and efficient finance markets for small and medium-sized businesses in the UK. 皇冠体育app British Business Bank is a key element of the government鈥檚 Industrial Strategy, and its programme is already contributing to making the UK the best place in Europe to start, grow and finance a business.

6. 皇冠体育app British Business Bank programme is currently run directly by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority. Once HM Government has received European Commission State aid clearance, which is expected in 2014, this programme will be transferred in its entirety to the British Business Bank plc, which will operate as a government-owned financial institution.

7. 皇冠体育app 拢300 million investment programme is designed to promote the diversity of lending by encouraging new entrants in the market. Its aim is to support the development of diverse debt finance markets available to smaller businesses and mobilising additional funding from the private sector.

8. 皇冠体育app programme may invest in businesses that offer non-traditional channels of lending that may not be regulated by the Financial Services Authority or the Office of Fair Trading and may carry a higher degree of risk than other investments. By making these investments the government is in no way endorsing or guaranteeing any particular channel, platform or investment, and investors should not, therefore, in any way treat the government鈥檚 involvement in an investment as an indication of the investment鈥檚 soundness. Private investors, in particular, should consider seeking independent financial advice before making investment decisions of any kind.

9. For more information on the British Business Bank and its 拢300 million investment programme, please visit:

10. 皇冠体育app Sector Mentoring Challenge Fund aims to encourage employers, trade bodies and others to work together and deliver tailored mentoring that address real business needs in their sector.

11. 皇冠体育app competition is open to any organisation in the UK. Proposals will need to: * stimulate demand by matching SMEs with mentors who understand their sector and needs * add value to existing mentoring provision * have the backing of employers or other representative groups * deliver value for money

12. 皇冠体育app Fund is worth 拢1 million and BIS is looking to invest up to 拢150 thousand per project and is particularly interested in innovative schemes that lead to a sustainable self funding model.

13. Applications must be submitted to BIS by noon on the 11th December 2013. For further information visit 鈥楽ector Mentoring Challenge Fund: application form and prospectus.

14. 皇冠体育app synthetic biology fund will be managed by private investment specialist Midven through its association with the long-established Rainbow Seed Fund, which provides kick-starting finance to technology start-up companies that evolve, or spin-out, from publicly funded research.

15. 皇冠体育app investment has been allocated to the fund by the BBSRC in response to the 2012 Synthetic Biology Roadmap, which sets out plans to harness opportunities in this area. For more information visit: .

16. 皇冠体育app government鈥檚 economic policy objective is to achieve 鈥榮trong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries鈥�. It set 4 ambitions in the 鈥楶lan for Growth鈥�, published at Budget 2011:

• to create the most competitive tax system in the G20
• to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
• to encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
• to create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe

Work is underway across government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the government wants the economy to travel.