Barclays Unveils GBP150 Million Loan Support For SMEs

Fri, 18 Dec 2009

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the UK have been boosted by the news that Barclays will release a further £150 million in funding through the European Investment Bank (EIB) Loan Support Scheme.

The Barclays cash is available to companies with fewer than 250 staff that are undertaking a capital investment project valued at between £5,000 and £22m. The loans cannot be used for working capital or refinancing purposes.

The finance package includes a one-off 2.5 per cent cashback payment when the loan is drawn to help offset the cost of borrowing .

Dan Roberts, head of debt products at Barclays Corporate, said: "The benefit of this scheme is immediate: the cashback payment gives customers an extra helping hand in today's challenging economic environment."

"By offering customers innovative ways to help weather these tough times we hope to cement our role as their strategic banking partner for many years to come."

The bank said it expects demand for the latest supply of loans to be taken up quicker than "the last tranche" because the EIB has relaxed some of its lending criteria and the maximum loan size has been doubled to £22m.

Barclays has already lent around £300m through the EIB scheme to more than 1,100 companies this year, while a further £100m in business loans has been handed out so far to more than 1,200 clients through the government's Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme .

"We are well aware of the responsibility of banks in the current environment, and have developed a wide range of initiatives, both in partnership with Government and on our own, which assist businesses in challenging times," added Roberts.

"Fundamentally, we know that we cannot be successful without successful customers."
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