BCRS to manage Midlands Engine Small Business Loans in the West Midlands

Jane Lambert

On 29 Aug 2017, I reported the launch of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund and the publication of Spotlight: The Midlands Engine Investment Fund. On Wednesday, fund managers for small business lending were appointed in the East and West Midlands. First Enterprise Business Agency was appointed for the East Midlands and BCRS Business Loans for the West.

A small business loan is one between £25,000 and £150,000.  Loans of between £100,000 and £1.5 million are available through the Midlands Engine Debt Finance Scheme which is managed by Maven Debt Finance.  Initial enquiries as to eligibility for a small business loan can be made through the enquiries form on the BCRS website.

As I said in my report on the launch of the fund:

"Anyone seeking any kind of funding under the MEIF or any other scheme will be expected to have planned, protected and leveraged its investment in branding, design, technology and creative output and that's where I come in. If you don't already have an IP strategy give me a call on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

I can help you identify your intellectual assets and suggest the best ways of protecting them having regard to your business objectives and available resources. If you already have a patent or trade mark attorney, solicitor or other professional advisers I can work with them. If not, I can put you in touch with some of my contacts and help you choose and instruct the ones you like best. I can incidentally also put you in touch with many other professionals such as product design consultants and IP insurers and introduce you to your nearest Business and IP Centre or Patent Information Unit where you can get more advice and assistance either free of charge or at a very modest cost."

Further information on IP strategy can be obtained on my What is Intellectual Property Strategy? resource page and further information on the Midlands Engine on my Midlands Engine resource page.

British Business Bank launches the First Tranche of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund

The Midlands

Author Morwen (Abigail Brady)

Licence Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 unported
Source Wilipedia

Jane Lambert

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund ("MEIF") is a joint initiative between the government owned British Business Bank and a number of local enterprise partnerships ("LEPs") in the West and East Midlands. The participating LEPs from the West Midlands are the Black Country, Coventry & Warwickshire, Greater Birmingham & Solihull, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, The Marches, and Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnerships. The Bank hopes to make £250 million available to small and medium enterprises ("SME") in the Midlands Engine area through debt finance, small business loans, proof of concept and equity finance funds in amounts ranging from £25,000 to £2 million.

Today the Bank announced the launch of its £150 million debt finance funding scheme which is the first tranche of the £250 million (see the British Business Bank's press release British Business Bank launches first £120 tranche of Midlands Engine Investment Fund 29 Aug 2017).  Also today, the Bank published Spotlight: The Midlands Engine Investment Fund which surveys the Midlands Engine area economic and funding landscape.

Anyone seeking any kind of funding under the MEIF or any other scheme will be expected to have planned, protected and leveraged its investment in branding, design, technology and creative output and that's where I come in.  If you don't already have an IP strategy give me a call on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.  

I can help you identify your intellectual assets and suggest the best ways of protecting them having regard to your business objectives and available resources. If you already have a patent or trade mark attorney, solicitor or other professional advisers I can work with them. If not, I can put you in touch with some of my contacts and help you choose and instruct the ones you like best. I can incidentally also put you in touch with many other professionals such as product design consultants and IP insurers and introduce you to your nearest Business and IP Centre or Patent Information Unit where you can get more advice and assistance either free of charge or at a very modest cost.