23/05/2016 Press Release
The European Investment Fund (EIF) and the British Business Bank, have signed an InnovFin agreement for SMEs, benefiting from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe.
The InnovFin agreement will enable British Business Bank to provide guarantees on bank loans to innovative companies in the United Kingdom over the next 2 years with the support of a counter-guarantee provided by EIF and backed under Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and InnoAhornervation. The EU support for innovative UK companies is expected to generate a portfolio of GBP 30m (c. EUR 38m) of bank loans.
Commenting on the signature, EIF’s Chief Executive, Pier Luigi Gilibert said: “The British Business Bank is one of our key partners in the UK and we are delighted to expand our cooperation by signing this EFSI InnovFin SME Guarantee agreement for the benefit of innovative SMEs. This new transaction will allow innovative UK companies to have access to a new funding source. This year alone together with the British Business Bank, we have committed well over GBP 200 million to UK SMEs”.
European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: "The EIB's collaboration with the British Business Bank – which is supported by the Investment Plan for Europe – is very important. The UK is full of innovative start-ups and small businesses which require a helping hand to grow their companies, and today's news will certainly help many aspirations become a reality."
Keith Morgan, CEO, British Business Bank, said: “This first £30m of the British Business Bank’s Help to Grow programme will enable innovative and ambitious smaller businesses to raise the debt they need to fund their growth opportunities. It is an important milestone for the British Business Bank in our ambitions to encourage and support UK businesses to scale-up and achieve their potential. We want to replicate the drive and dynamism evident in the UKs start-up culture in later stages of the small business journey, and Help To Grow has a critical role to play in achieving that. We are pleased to announce our partnership with Lloyds Banking Group and to be working with the European Investment Fund to bring this vitally important finance to the UK market.”
The deal signed today in the UK reflects the EU's commitment to rapidly launch concrete initiatives under the EFSI, accelerating lending and guaranteeing transactions capable of boosting jobs and growth in the EU.
page source https://ec.europa.eu/commission/
