Member Article

MSIF £2.7m funding boost to Mersey firms

Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF) has raised further funding to increase the amount of support it can offer businesses based in Merseyside and the surrounding regions.

The funding is made up of an award of £1.350m of Regional Growth Fund (RGF) money and is matched by bank funding. The money can be used to offer funding - up £50,000 - to start ups and growth capital in small to medium sized businesses (less than 250 employees) operating any sector including retail and social enterprises.

Businesses based in Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral, Halton, Warrington, Skelmersdale and Ormskirk are all eligible and limited companies, partnerships and sole traders can all apply. The funding will be invested over a three year period to October 2016.

MSIF’s Chief Operating Officer Lisa Greenhalgh said: “The £2.7m of additional funds will ensure that we can continue to support entrepreneurs and businesses that need small loans to start or grow.

“Most importantly, it means that we have more money availableto continue to provide finance to start ups. New businesses are crucial to the local economy but they are the ones who find it most difficult to get funding from traditional sources. It is extremely hard for anyone without a track record to get funding to start a business. As many start ups have not run a business previously, it becomes a catch 22 situation when it comes to trying to raise finance to support an idea.

“Alongside the RGF money we have our own legacy funds meaning we have much more than £2.7m to invest at this level. We also have our Start Up Loans Programme which offers finance from as little as £250 to people aged 30 and under who want to start a business so we can offer lots of start up support.

“Investment managers Chris Walters and Sue Chambers will continue to oversee the sub £50k loans. They are both highly experienced investors at this level and have particular expertise in supporting start up businesses.”

This Regional Growth Fund programme is provided through the Community Development Finance Association. It provides loans to small, micro and social enterprises through the community finance sector. £30million of funding is provided by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, matched with a further £30 million by the Co-operative Bank and Unity Trust Bank.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .