British Business Investments announces a new £25m facility to Shire
British Business Investments has agreed a new facility to Shire (Shire Leasing plc and Shire Securities Ltd) to enable an increased flow of asset finance solutions to UK smaller businesses.
The facility, made from the Structured Financial Institutions Solutions variant of the Bank’s Investment Programme amounts to £25m of block discounting funding. It will enable the Tamworth-based specialist lender to provide additional finance to UK smaller businesses for business-critical asset acquisition across the agriculture, business services, manufacturing and construction sectors.
Shire Leasing plc is an established independent finance provider with a long-standing track record of lending to UK smaller businesses.
The British Business Bank has had a successful operating relationship with Shire Leasing plc for over a decade. During this time, Shire has seen a significant transformation of its own book portfolio, growing from c.£50m ten years ago to over £225m today.
As Shire moves into its next development phase with the acquisition of Shire Securities Ltd, a commercial finance broker and provider of loans and cash flow solutions, it presents the opportunity of generating further growth in lending to UK smaller businesses.
Jonathan Marriott, senior director, Structured Financial Institutions Solutions, British Business Bank, said: “We are pleased to be continuing the Bank’s support for independent operators in the asset finance sector on a truly national basis with this investment into the Shire group of companies. “The use of our block discounting model has proved to be an effective way of providing valuable additional funding by widening the choice of finance options that smaller businesses across the UK can access. We look forward to working with Shire over the coming years to help those businesses get the finance they need.”
Helen Lumb, managing director at Shire said: “Our ongoing partnership with the British Business Bank continues to strengthen our ability to support UK SMEs. This new funding commitment is a testament to our shared vision of making finance more accessible to businesses across various sectors. “As we move forward with the acquisition of Shire Securities Ltd, we are poised to further expand our lending capabilities. This development phase represents a significant opportunity for us to enhance our support for smaller businesses, helping them secure the finance needed to grow and succeed in today’s competitive market.”