Investment fund’s £18m backing for Welsh SMEs

THE British Business Bank says £18m has been deployed to date from its £130m Investment Fund for Wales (IFW) to back the growth of indigenous SMEs.

- SION BARRY

The economic development bank of the UK Government launched its first dedicated fund for Wales in November 2023.

It consists of three pots, with the small debt element offering loans from £25,000 to £100,000 managed by BCRS, larger loans of £100,000 to £2m, managed by Development Bank of Wales subsidiary FW Capital, and equity investments up to £5m managed by Foresight. The British Business Bank has not disclosed what has been invested from each pot.

Some £40m for the fund was held back at launch for future deployment. The British Business Bank said a process for allocating part of the investor reserve will commence later this year with an expectation of it being deployed in the third year of the fund.