Record end to BCRS year

BCRS Business Loans, which supports growing businesses that are struggling to access finance from traditional lenders, confirmed that December 2018 was its best month of lending in its 17-year history.

In the final month of 2018, BCRS lent £943,000, which supported the growth of 16 businesses in the West Midlands and surrounding areas.

There were back-to-back celebrations for BCRS as the previous lending record was set just the month before, in November.

Paul Kalinauckas, chief executive of BCRS Business Loans, said: “This is certainly an exciting time for BCRS Business Loans, with back-to-back months of record-breaking lending. We believe that no viable business in the West Midlands should be left unsupported.

“Our excellent performance in the past few months boils down to three main factors: firstly, we have an excellent team in place who build strong, lasting relationships with customers; while, secondly, access to initiatives such as the Midlands Engine Investment Fund and Community Investment Enterprise Facility means we have a raft of funding available.

“Finally, we continue to find that small and medium sized businesses in the West Midlands are relying on alternative finance providers such as BCRS Business Loans as a means of securing funding to grow and prosper.

“As a non-profit distributing organisation founded on co-operative principles, we understand that our lending has far-reaching social and economic impacts across the region.

“To date, by providing loans to local SMEs, we have been able to help secure over 5,430 jobs and create an additional 3,600 jobs. This has generated an extra £332 million in the West Midlands economy, which we are incredibly proud of,” said Mr Kalinauckas.

To discover more about BCRS Business Loans or to submit a fast-track initial application form, visit www.bcrs.org.uk or call 0345 313 8410.