SME Investment Fund
The £40m SME Fund is a four-year evergreen fund managed by Finance Wales, consists of £20m from the Welsh Government and an additional £20m of private sector investment from the private sector.
The Wales SME Investment Fund will complement the existing £150 million European-backed Wales JEREMIE fund which provides the Welsh Government’s main source of commercial finance for eligible SMEs. So far, over £80 million has been invested in more than 390 businesses from the Wales JEREMIE fund in just over two years and it has proved to be the best performing fund of its type in the UK.
The £40 million SME Fund will:
- Increase the number of SMEs eligible for investment from Finance Wales by more than 50%
- Allow the tens of thousands of businesses that sell directly to consumers to be eligible for Finance Wales investment
- Provide good value for Welsh Government funding by recycling investment returns to produce an ‘evergreen’ fund for SMEs in the future
- Leverage in £2 of private sector funding for £1 of Welsh Government funding invested
- Provide a funding mix of loans, mezzanine and equity, typically ranging in size from £50,000 to £2million.
The SME investment fund is managed on behalf of Welsh Government by Finance Wales. Welsh Government said:
“The Wales SME Investment Fund will ensure more SMEs, including those who sell their goods and services to consumers rather than businesses, become eligible for repayable commercial investment from Finance Wales.”
For more details on the SME Investment fund contact Capital Wales through our ‘Get in Touch’ page.
