Patsy McGlone 1st December 2011

Written Answer from the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment

Economic Strategy

Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what discussions her Department has had with the banks in relation to the small and medium enterprises loan fund, set out in the Economic Strategy, to aid liquidity and to ensure that finance is available to help growth.

(AQW 4718/11-15)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Access to finance is recognised as a key issue which cuts across a number of areas in the draft Economic Strategy. DETI, through Invest NI, continues to develop and implement an Access to Capital Strategy which supports the availability of capital within the local SME market. An important element of the strategy is the establishment of a £50m Growth Loan Fund which will help viable small and medium sized businesses in the manufacturing and tradable services sectors with growth ambitions.

The primary purpose of the loan fund is to provide additional funding to SMEs to enable them to achieve their growth objectives. It will address a gap in the market for access to finance by complementing existing sources of finance, including bank finance, venture capital and private equity finance.

Invest NI commissioned ASM Horwath to carry out an economic appraisal to determine the preferred option for implementing the Growth Loan Fund, and to assess value for money. Invest NI has had regular contact with the banks in relation to this fund, both before the appraisal was conducted and following approval of the fund. ASM Horwath also consulted with the banks during the appraisal process.

 

ENDS