British Business Investments has announced a new £15 million commitment to Liberty Leasing, which is set to increase access to finance for UK smaller businesses in the construction, engineering, transport, agriculture, and printing sectors.
In the aftermath of a rocky few months for British businesses, many are seeking financial support to keep their operations afloat. Hence why this £15 million pound commitment will likely be welcomed with open arms.
The commitment being made by British Business Investments, which itself is a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, comes as a £15 million block to discount the funding line. The funding will enable Liberty Leasing, a specialist asset finance company, to offer support to smaller businesses requiring financing for critical equipment; aiding them, and the wider UK economy, in recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
British Business Investments aims to increase the supply and diversity of finance for smaller businesses across the UK, by boosting the lending capacity of a range of finance providers, including asset finance partners.
“British Business Investments’ objective is to ensure smaller businesses can access as diverse a range of finance options as possible, to help them grow and succeed,” comments Judith Hartley, CEO of British Business Investments. “Supporting independent operators, such as Liberty Leasing, helps to diversify the finance market and provide more choice for UK smaller businesses. We look forward to working with Liberty Leasing, to help smaller businesses across the UK get the finance they need.”
Since it was established in 2014, British Business Investments has committed over £2.5 billion to providers of finance to UK smaller businesses. In July of this year, for example, the Bank delivered two funding tranches to the UK independent asset finance provider Propel, helping them to provide SMEs across the UK with financial support worth in excess of £216 million.
Speaking on the opportunities garnered by this additional funding, Allan Clegg, Managing Director of Liberty Leasing, remarks, “The British Business Investments facility is an exciting development for Liberty as we look to support SMEs across the UK with their post-pandemic recovery and growth plans. It will provide us with the incremental capital needed to deploy further levels of asset finance into the UK SME market, supporting the growth of the UK economy.”
