The British Business Bank has opened the South East Investment Fund, worth £210m, for small and medium-sized businesses across the South East of England. It launched on 9 September. Unusually for a regional fund, it lends as well as invests.
01What the South East Investment Fund covers
The fund runs across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Sussex, Surrey and Kent.
It has two halves. On the debt side it offers loans from £25,000 to £2m. On the equity side it offers investments of up to £5m. Each half is run by an appointed fund manager rather than by the bank itself.
According to the British Business Bank, the South East received 5% of the UK's total equity investment by value last year. The same region is home to 17% of the UK's university spinout businesses.
02Which half should most businesses look at?
Coverage of regional funds tends to lead on the equity. For most businesses in Kent, Surrey or Hampshire, the £25,000 to £2m loan band is the more useful half.
That band covers what growing businesses actually borrow for. Stock, equipment, premises and hiring ahead of demand all sit inside it.
It is also the band where a business turned down by its own bank tends to land. A regional fund is not a last resort. It is a different door.
03What to do if you are in one of those counties
Two things are worth knowing before you plan around it.
The launch announcement does not set out eligibility criteria or an application route. So check the fund's own guidance before you budget for it, rather than working from press coverage.
And a regional fund is one option rather than the only one. The same need is often met faster by business growth finance from the wider market. The right answer depends on the amount, the timing and what the money is for. We looked at the wider picture in our guide on funding growth while most firms hold back.
