Member Article

BCRS Business Loans gets Christmas started for business community at popular annual lunch

The West Midlands business community got firmly into the mood for Christmas when award-winning loan provider BCRS Business Loans staged its popular diners club lunch event.

Christmas jumpers, festive songs and a seasonal quiz were all on the menu when guests gathered for the Worcestershire Diners Club networking lunch at Worcester Racecourse in Grand Stand Road on November 30.

Fresh from announcing their expansion into delivering services in Wales, BCRS Business Loans brought together colleagues from its network of financial and legal service providers for the event, which included a two-course lunch and the chance for teams of guests to compete in a Christmas-theme quiz.

Ann Price, Director of Information and Finance at Age UK Herefordshire and Worcestershire, gave an overview of the charity’s work in the region and its drive to work with business partners.

Business Development Manager Angie Preece, who covers the Worcester region, provided more than 50 guests with an update on the work by BCRS Business Loans with companies to enable them to secure loans from between £10,000 and £150,000 to support growth and recovery plans.

The briefing included an overview of the appointment of BCRS Business Loans to support small businesses in Wales as a fund manager for the new £130 million Investment Fund for Wales launched by British Business Bank.

Having worked with SMEs unable to access finance from traditional sources in the West Midlands since 2002, BCRS Business Loans has expanded into Wales to help smaller businesses there prosper and thrive under the fund.

BCRS will manage the smaller loans part of the fund from £25,000 to £100,000, with FW Capital handling larger loans of £100,000 to £2 million and Foresight managing equity deals up to £5 million.

Angie said: “BCRS Business Loans was pleased to return to Worcester Racecourse for another Christmas-themed Diners Club which saw our team celebrate our recent progress with colleagues and partners in a very enjoyable afternoon.

“Times are difficult for many businesses but BCRS is growing its reputation for making a positive working with a range of lenders, business groups, professionals and companies, to support growth. Our recent expansion into Wales shows we are building on our progress and we have been recognised for our work, which gives us an exciting future to shape with our network.”

BCRS was named Innovation Thought Leader of the Year – Business at the Innovation Awards in October in recognition of its work to empower innovation in the West Midlands through finance and support.

A social impact study for BCRS for the most recent financial year showed BCRS lent £6.5m to 72 businesses, safeguarding 999 jobs and creating 473 roles, adding £33.7m in value to the economy of the West Midlands and surrounding region. The 2022/23 report showed 50 per cent of funding went to the UK’s top 35 per cent most disadvantaged areas, with 16 per cent going to female-led businesses and 14 per cent to ethnic minority-led firms.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Osborn Communications .