The British Business Bank’s new £130m fund for Wales makes first small loans into three firms

The first small loans from the British Business Bank’s £130m Investment Fund for Wales have been made to support the growth plans of three businesses.

Midlands-based BCRS, which is the fund manager for the small loans elements of the fund, has provided debt of £40,000 to Wrexham-based Wynnstay Self Storage, £30,000 to Blackwood-based photonics specialist manufacturer Bluebox Optics, and £25,000 for Vale of Glamorgan takeaway business Metro Eatery.

The Investment Fund for Wales was launched by the UK Government’s economic regeneration bank to provide growth finance to Welsh SMEs.

The small loans element allows BCRS to provide funding ranging from £25,000 to £100,000.

The fund also has a larger debt element, managed by the Development Bank of Wales, providing repayable finance ranging from £100,000 to £2m. The fund’s £50m equity element, which can see investment of up to £5m per deal, is managed by Foresight.

Wynnstay Self Storage was inherited by Matt Pritchard when his father and founder, Geoff Pritchard, passed away in 2016.

Mr Pritchard said “Our success has all been down to word of mouth and we are consistently full to capacity. This injection of investment will enable us to purchase a further ten shipping containers and to develop the infrastructure to increase the size of the business.”

Bluebox Optics chief executive, Ron Yandle, said: “We have worked extensively with universities on medical device research projects and this loan will enable us to develop discussions we’ve had with Imperial College London on developing a LED light engine and camera system to help make breast cancer reconstruction surgery more efficient.“

Muhammed Mujib, of Metro Eatery, said the funding will finance the fit-out of a second takeaway in Dinas Powys.

Mark Sterritt, director, nations and regions investment funds at the British Business

Stephen Deakin.

Bank, said: “Our Investment Fund for Wales was established to support smaller businesses with their growth ambitions and these three loans demonstrate that.

“These three businesses have solid foundations to build upon, and this growth capital will certainly enable them to continue progressing their businesses to the next level.”

Stephen Deakin, chief executive at BCRS, said: “BCRS are proud to be supporting small businesses to gain access to finance so that they can grow and thrive, which in turn will contribute to the success of the wider Welsh economy.”