New fund will support more Welsh businesses

26/10/06

A new £30million commercial fund has today (Thursday, 26th October 2006) been launched by the Welsh Assembly Government to help Welsh businesses achieve their growth plans.

Andrew Davies, Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks, announced the new Finance Wales fund at the Financing Growth Conference held at the Celtic Manor Resort.

It follows the anticipated successful investment of Finance Wales’ £45million European Objective 1 Fund a year ahead of the original target and the identified need for continued flexible commercial funding for SME’s.

Finance Wales, the wholly owned subsidiary company of the Welsh Assembly Government which provides commercial funding to SME’s in Wales, will source 50 per cent of the Fund from the private sector with the remaining 50 per cent provided by the Welsh Assembly Government. The fund will be operational by April 2007.

“This important new fund will continue to help Welsh businesses to achieve their growth plans,” said Andrew Davies. “I am pleased that the Welsh Assembly Government’s approach to supporting businesses is continuing to have a real impact on the performance of the Welsh economy. Since we created Finance Wales in 2001, it has evolved successfully into a well respected financial institution with a seriously commercial edge.”

The announcement caps a hugely successful year for Finance Wales, which recently announced record levels of investment (£21million) in Welsh businesses in financial year 2005/06, as well as its 1000th investment. Finance Wales is now entering the next stage of its development and has appointed a new Board to provide the strategic and operational guidance required to achieve this.

“We are delighted with this announcement,” explains Finance Wales’ Chief Executive, Sian Lloyd Jones. “The new fund will mean Finance Wales can continue to help Welsh businesses achieve their growth ambitions and we are committed to raising even more public and private sector funding to support Welsh businesses and grow the Welsh economy.”