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Sources of Finance

In the Birmingham & Solihull sub-region there are also agencies offering specialist finance services for social enterprises including:

Aston Reinvestment Trust (ART)

Contact: Andy King
0121 359 2444
ART@reinvest.co.uk

ART is a CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution), based in Birmingham and established in 1997. ART exists to fill gaps in the conventional finance market. It fills a niche between bank lending, grant funding and charitable donations. Its remit is to help create local jobs for local people.

ART lends between £10,000 and £50,000 to businesses and social enterprises in Birmingham and North Solihull which need funds to survive or grow, but have been unable to secure them from conventional sources. The loan could be for cash flow or to support a capital investment project. It could be part of a finance package with other financiers, or stand-alone. Repayment terms vary from 6 months to 10 years.

ART is also able to provide support, advice and guidance to its borrowers and in some cases can also offer pre-loan advice.

Adventure Capital Fund

Set up in December 2002, to make new forms of investment in community organizations. ACF provides a mixture of loans and grants of up to £750, backed up by expert mentoring and support services.

Big Issue Invest

This is a specialised provider of finance to social enterprises or trading arms of charities and part of The Big Issue group of companies. Applications are considered for commercial property renovation or purchase, equipment purchase, growth or acquisition or working capital. Loans range from £50k-£200k, but Big Issue Invest will look at higher amounts in partnership with other social finance institutions.

Charity Bank

Charity Bank lends to any organisation that is either a registered or exempt charity, as well as to community associations, voluntary organisations, community businesses, social enterprises or social landlords, as long as the purpose of the loan is charitable. Amounts (which can be secured or unsecured) are generally up to £1m, although larger loans may be considered in partnership with other lenders.

Co-operative Loan Fund & Co-operative Fund

The Co-operative Loan Fund supports new and established co-operatives and social enterprises throughout the UK. The minimum loan is £5k and maximum £75k and can be secured or unsecured. The fund is able to make loans with initially low repayments of capital and interest.

Co-operative & Community Finance (formerly ICOF (Industrial Common Ownership Finance)

Applications will be considered from all types of social enterprise including co-operatives, social enterprises, community businesses, development trusts and businesses developed from the charitable and voluntary sector. Loans from £5k to £50k are normally available, although larger amounts up to £250k will be considered in certain circumstances.

Futurebuilders

This fund will consider applications from charities, voluntary organisations, social enterprises, industrial & provident societies and community interest companies needing finance to deliver public services. They provide a mixture of loan and grant finance, together with support to help organisations build capacity and increase effectiveness. Futurebuilders cannot make a full investment of less than £50k, although their products include interest free loans of £3k-£50k and grants up to £15k to assist with the cost of tendering for public sector contracts.

Kingdom Bank Ltd

This organisation provides funds to buy, build and develop churches, Christian ministries, community centres and sports facilities. They will consider applications from churches, Christian charities and social action projects established for at least three years. Mortgage amounts are based on how much the organisation can afford and the value of the property. Unsecured loans up to £15k are also available.

The Social Enterprise Loan Fund

TSELF has six local funds (see also entry below for The Social Enterprise Loan Fund for the West Midlands) which provide loans to charities and other social enterprises that have a charitable purpose. Minimum loan size is £15k and maximum £250k.

The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (West Midlands)

Contact: Avril Howker
0115 974 6299
a.howker@tself.org.uk

The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (West Midlands) was established in 2002 to provide loan finance for social enterprises and charities throughout the West Midlands in order to help create jobs.

Relaunched in 2008, it now offers three categories of loans: for property purchase/improvements (to £250,000); for other fixed assets (to £100,000); for working capital (to £50,000).

Triodos Bank

Triodos only lends to organisations which create real social, environmental and cultural value- charities, social businesses, community projects and environmental initiatives. Term loans, working capital loans, overdrafts, bank guarantees and other forms of credit facility are provided. In addition to this, it also provides The Social Enterprise Fund which is a venture capital fund for social enterprises. Investments of £200k- £750k are made in social enterprises with a proven business model that are looking to grow and scale up their operations.

Unity Trust Bank

They offer a range of specialist services to charities, voluntary organizations, social enterprises, credit unions, trades unions & the not-for-profit sector. Unity’s Head Office is based in Birmingham.

UnLtd Millennium Awards

Contact: Shamiela Ahmed
Tel: 0121 766 4570
ShamielaAhmed@unltd.org.uk
www.unltd.org.uk

UnLtd is a charity which supports social entrepreneurs – people with vision, drive, commitment and passion who want to change the world for the better. UnLtd provides a complete package of funding and support, to help these individuals make their ideas a reality. There are two award levels: level 1 – up to £5,000; and level 2 – up to £15,000. To find out if you might be eligible for UnLtd’s support – which in addition to financial support also includes ongoing mentoring and business support – visit http://www.unltd.org.uk/ or contact the Birmingham office.

Venturesome

Tel. 0207 832 3026
www.cafonline.org/venturesome

Part of the Charities Aid Foundation, Venturesome provides loans and investment support that fill the gap between grants and bank loans. They lend to charities and other social purpose organisations. Amounts range from £20k to £350k.

OTHER SOURCES

Major clearing banks – for details please refer to www.westmidlandsfinance.com

OTHER LOCAL WEST MIDLANDS CDFIs

Black Country Reinvestment Society http://www.bcrs.org.uk/
Impetus – Marches Rural Reinvestment Fund http://www.impetus-marches.co.uk/home_page.htm
Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust http://www.cwrt.uk.com/
For more details regarding these organizations please refer to
www.fair-finance.net

ENTERPRISE FINANCE GUARANTEE SCHEME

This has replaced the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme and loans ranging from £1k to £1m are provided by a number of lenders to organizations with annual turnover up to £25m. Repayment terms are between one and ten years. See www.businesslink.gov.uk/realhelp/finance for more details.

In common with ‘for profit’ businesses, a variety of lenders provide other types of finance to social enterprises:
• Factoring/invoice discounting
• Leasing
• Asset/stock finance

For further information log onto www.abfa.org.uk

This list based on original information collated by ART – used with thanks