Latest news with #MichaelStrevens
Business News Wales
6 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
British Business Bank Reaches £5bn Lending Milestone for Structured Guarantee Programmes
The British Business Bank has reached the landmark milestone of £5 billion of lending across its structured guarantee programmes, ENABLE Guarantees and ENABLE Build. More than £3 billion has been delivered to businesses outside London and the South East. A total of £155.95 million has been provided in Wales. The ENABLE Guarantees programme is designed to encourage additional lending to smaller and medium-sized businesses. Participating institutions are incentivised by a government-backed guarantee to support defined portfolios of debt finance in return for a fee. Smaller and medium-sized businesses across the UK have benefited significantly from the programme, British Business Bank said. The structured guarantee programmes have provided more than £2.3 billion of support to the construction and housing sectors, including around £1.2 billion under ENABLE Build. Other notable sectors benefiting include hospitality, with more than £270 million, and agriculture, with more than £260 million. Since the first transaction in 2017, these structured guarantee programmes have supported both bank and non-bank financial institutions to unlock more lending to smaller and medium-sized businesses. The ENABLE Guarantees programme is open to all UK banks, UK branches of foreign banks, asset and asset-based finance providers as well as certain other categories of lenders which lend, or intend to lend, to viable small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the UK. The ENABLE Build programme operates in a similar manner to the ENABLE Guarantees programme, but is focused on encouraging additional lending to smaller and medium-sized housebuilders in the UK. Michael Strevens, Managing Director, Structured Financial Institutions, British Business Bank, said: 'It's incredibly rewarding to reflect on the volume of lending to smaller and medium-sized businesses and the number of homes built that we've helped enable over the years. Our focus has always been on evolving our support to strengthen UK businesses, and it's encouraging to see those efforts bearing fruit. Looking ahead, we're focused on being more proactive — working closely with lenders to understand their challenges and tailor solutions that fit. That's how we'll unlock the next £5 billion — and do so with greater pace and purpose.' Adam Bovingdon, Head of Property Development, United Trust Bank (UTB), said: 'UTB helped the British Business Bank develop its ENABLE Guarantees programme to be suitable for supporting housebuilding and was the first lender to take advantage of it when it was made available to the sector in 2017. We subsequently signed up to ENABLE Build and I am delighted to say that earlier this year UTB surpassed £1 billion of ENABLE guaranteed lending across both schemes, delivering nearly 450 loan facilities to SME housebuilders and supporting the creation of around 4,700 new homes. Bearing in mind that during this period lenders and housebuilders have also had to contend with the Covid-19 pandemic and considerable economic and political volatility, it's clear just how important this support has been. ENABLE is an excellent example of successful state and private sector cooperation.' Ravi Anand, Managing Director of ThinCats, said: 'The British Business Bank's ENABLE Guarantees programme has been a huge contribution to the £1 billion of funding we have undertaken post COVID. The scheme 'does what it says on the tin'— enabling senior bank appetite to allow ThinCats to fund growth initiatives of UK mid-sized SMEs and in turn enabling a positive contribution to UK GDP.' Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), said: 'It's positive to see that small housebuilders have taken advantage of ENABLE schemes. Financing is one of the top issues holding back small developers from building new homes and the more finance options there are the better. The ENABLE Build scheme helps aid diversification of the UK's housing market, which is essential to deliver the Government's ambition of 1.5 million new homes.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
British Business Bank hits £5bn in structured guarantee programmes
The British Business Bank has reached £5bn in lending through its ENABLE structured guarantee programmes. These programmes, including ENABLE Guarantees and ENABLE Build, have delivered more than £3bn to businesses outside London and the South East, supporting smaller and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK, the bank said. A total of £500m has been allocated to each of the North West, East Midlands and East of England regions. The ENABLE Guarantees programme is designed to encourage additional lending to SMEs by providing a government-backed guarantee to participating institutions, which support defined portfolios of debt finance in return for a fee. The structured guarantee programmes provided more than £2.3bn of support to the construction and housing sectors, including approximately £1.2bn under ENABLE Build. Other sectors such as hospitality and agriculture have also benefitted, receiving more than £270m and £260m, respectively. Since the first transaction in 2017, these programmes have enabled both bank and non-bank financial institutions to increase lending to SMEs. The ENABLE Guarantees programme is open to all UK banks, UK branches of foreign banks, asset and asset-based finance providers, and certain other lenders that lend to viable SMEs in the UK. The ENABLE Build programme operates similarly to ENABLE Guarantees but focuses on encouraging additional lending to smaller and medium-sized housebuilders in the UK. British Business Bank Structured Financial Institutions managing director Michael Strevens said: 'It is incredibly rewarding to reflect on the volume of lending to smaller and medium-sized businesses and the number of homes built that we have helped enable over the years. 'Our focus has always been on evolving our support to strengthen UK businesses, and it is encouraging to see those efforts bearing fruit. Looking ahead, we are focused on being more proactive – working closely with lenders to understand their challenges and tailor solutions that fit. That is how we will unlock the next £5bn – and do so with greater pace and purpose.' "British Business Bank hits £5bn in structured guarantee programmes" was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
British Business Bank announces £100m facility for LE Capital
The British Business Bank has agreed to back a senior facility of up to £100m, provided by Paragon Bank to LE Capital. With the guarantee, which was facilitated by the ENABLE Guarantee programme, Paragon Bank will be able to continue to support LE Capital by expanding the amount of financing available. The facility will back a portfolio exceeding £100m in funding for independent, smaller businesses and used car dealerships, assisting them in funding their stock. LE Capital partners with both online and physical auction houses to assist dealer wholesale purchases. Since 2017, the company is said to have supported over 100,000 transactions and funded more than £750m in stock. British Business Bank said the facility's size will allow LE Capital to expand its reach, doubling the number of dealerships it caters to across the UK. It is also expected to enable support for larger facilities for both independent and franchise dealers while offering competitive pricing to both new and existing customers. This marks the first instance of the guarantee being utilised in a speciality finance structure, stated British Business Bank. Additionally, it is the inaugural ENABLE Guarantee transaction that the British Business Bank has supported Paragon with, enhancing the funding capacity Paragon can offer to smaller business finance providers. The ENABLE Guarantee programme aims to promote increased lending to smaller businesses. Institutions that take part are incentivised by a government-backed guarantee, which supports a specific portfolio of debt finance in exchange for a fee. It is available to all UK banks, UK branches of foreign banks, asset and asset-based finance providers, as well as other types of lenders. British Business Bank head of structured FI solutions Michael Strevens said: 'This is the first time we have used pricing to promote electric and hybrid vehicles, the first time we have used the guarantee for speciality finance, and the first time we have worked with LE Capital. We look forward to seeing this finance help independent car dealerships expand and grow, whilst also encouraging their transition to net zero.' LE Capital CEO George Stancliffe said: 'Independent dealerships in the UK often rely on stock funding to grow revenues and expand operations. This new facility, supported by the British Business Bank, will allow us to double our funding capacity in the UK, offering larger facilities to independent and franchised dealerships while providing more competitive pricing to our existing and future customers.' "British Business Bank announces £100m facility for LE Capital" was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
British Business Bank announces £100m facility for LE Capital
The British Business Bank has agreed to back a senior facility of up to £100m, provided by Paragon Bank to LE Capital. With the guarantee, which was facilitated by the ENABLE Guarantee programme, Paragon Bank will be able to continue to support LE Capital by expanding the amount of financing available. The facility will back a portfolio exceeding £100m in funding for independent, smaller businesses and used car dealerships, assisting them in funding their stock. LE Capital partners with both online and physical auction houses to assist dealer wholesale purchases. Since 2017, the company is said to have supported over 100,000 transactions and funded more than £750m in stock. British Business Bank said the facility's size will allow LE Capital to expand its reach, doubling the number of dealerships it caters to across the UK. It is also expected to enable support for larger facilities for both independent and franchise dealers while offering competitive pricing to both new and existing customers. This marks the first instance of the guarantee being utilised in a speciality finance structure, stated British Business Bank. Additionally, it is the inaugural ENABLE Guarantee transaction that the British Business Bank has supported Paragon with, enhancing the funding capacity Paragon can offer to smaller business finance providers. The ENABLE Guarantee programme aims to promote increased lending to smaller businesses. Institutions that take part are incentivised by a government-backed guarantee, which supports a specific portfolio of debt finance in exchange for a fee. It is available to all UK banks, UK branches of foreign banks, asset and asset-based finance providers, as well as other types of lenders. British Business Bank head of structured FI solutions Michael Strevens said: 'This is the first time we have used pricing to promote electric and hybrid vehicles, the first time we have used the guarantee for speciality finance, and the first time we have worked with LE Capital. We look forward to seeing this finance help independent car dealerships expand and grow, whilst also encouraging their transition to net zero.' LE Capital CEO George Stancliffe said: 'Independent dealerships in the UK often rely on stock funding to grow revenues and expand operations. This new facility, supported by the British Business Bank, will allow us to double our funding capacity in the UK, offering larger facilities to independent and franchised dealerships while providing more competitive pricing to our existing and future customers.' "British Business Bank announces £100m facility for LE Capital" was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
