The £130 million Investment Fund for Wales (IFW) has reached its first major milestone after hitting £10 million in investment and lending into Welsh smaller businesses.
The announcement comes one year on from the launch of the IFW in November 2023.
Among the Welsh businesses to benefit from the Investment Fund for Wales include a £650,000 equity investment into Caerphilly based ‘hard adventure’ travel firm, EverTrek, a growing online travel brand catering to the £1.7 billion hard adventure segment of the £10.7 billion UK adventure tourism market; and a £850,000 equity investment into another Caerphilly based firm, drone development specialists and service providers, Drone Evolution.
Debt deals include a £500,000 investment into leading contract scaffolders Palmers Scaffolding based in Deeside, and a £100,000 debt finance deal with Economy Energy Group, a renewable energy provider based at Swansea Enterprise Park, both via FW Capital, and a £100,000 investment into Bangor based Snowdon Timber Products via BCRS.
The Bank’s Investment Fund for Wales is the first solely UK Government-backed investment fund for smaller businesses in Wales and is helping to increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance by providing options to firms that might otherwise not receive investment. Funding is designed to help businesses with activities including expansion, product or service innovation, new processes, skills development, and capital equipment.
Three fund managers were appointed to manage the fund. BCRS Business Loans manages the smaller loans part of the fund (£25,000 to £100,000), FW Capital is responsible for larger loans (£100,000 to £2 million) and Foresight manages equity deals (up to £5 million).
Commenting on the milestone, Mark Sterritt, Investment Director at the British Business Bank, said:
“When we launched the Investment Fund for Wales a year ago this week, our ambition was to help address the challenges of access to finance across the Welsh SME landscape and provide the opportunity for innovative and ambitious businesses to thrive and meet their full potential.
“This £10 million milestone, and first anniversary of the Investment Fund for Wales, shows how the fund is building momentum, enabling us to highlight some of the investments in Welsh businesses made to date. We continue to look to the future though to see how best the Fund can work for Welsh smaller businesses, and contribute to the ongoing sustainable success of the Welsh economy.”
To find out more and apply for funding, visit: www.investmentfundwales.co.uk
