BEF celebrates 15 years of lending
BEF is celebrating 15 years of supporting businesses having reached a milestone lending figure of £70m.
A social enterprise is celebrating 15 years of supporting businesses
having reached a milestone lending figure of £70m.
The Business Enterprise Fund (BEF), which has offices in Bradford, Leeds,
Goole, Tees Valley has also opened an office in Manchester this year.
The 22 strong team specialises in
providing responsible and flexible finance to start-up businesses and SMEs
across West and North Yorkshire, the North East and, most recently, the North
West, with a focus on those which are making a positive social impact in their
communities.
Steve Waud, chief executive at BEF, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have
reached £70m of lending in our 15th year – we have also just
celebrated a record month of lending for this year, with £1.15m loaned to start
ups and SMEs across our districts throughout October.
“In the current financial year we’ve completed 268 deals and helped to
start 214 UK businesses and as reported in our social impact report earlier
this year, we’ve invested more than 3,000 hours of time in supporting our
clients. Our team of investment managers, which has grown significantly this
year due to demand, is extremely passionate about supporting their clients in
everything from business planning through to execution.”
This year, BEF has introduced a new short-term loan to its offering,
which already includes start-up loans between £500 - £25k loans for growing
businesses at £25k - £250k.
Steve added: “We introduced the short term loan of up to £100k for those
who require an immediate support with cash flow, asset purchase or business
development – so far client feedback has been exceptionally positive; we
recognise that each deal is individual and therefore a bespoke approach is
required.”
BEF’s responsible finance model
recognises the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), ensuring it is
measuring its impact across areas such as gender equality, ending poverty and
making settlements more inclusive.
Mark Iley, investment manager at
BEF since 2012, said: “The social impact BEF is committed is inspiring and our
ethos of loaning to others who are supporting their local communities, whether
it’s through job creation, offering facilities or improving the surroundings,
is especially rewarding. We’re all excited to see what the future brings!”