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Midlands Engine Investment Fund II invests over £17 million into region’s businesses

Press release 27 November 2024

The British Business Bank's Midlands Engine Investment Fund II has committed over £17m in the Midlands in its first nine months, leveraging a further £10m from the private sector to help the region's small and medium businesses to start up, scale up, or stay ahead.

Portrait of David Tindall, Christopher Rush and Marie Kelly

A total of 70 businesses have received support through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II since its launch in February 2024. The £400m Midlands Engine Investment Fund II covers the whole of the Midlands and provides debt finance from £25,000 to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help small and medium sized businesses.

Five dedicated fund managers – First Enterprise - Enterprise Loans, BCRS Business Loans, Mercia Ventures, Frontier Development Capital (FDC), and Maven Capital Partners – manage separate parts of the £400m fund.

Cheese manufacturer and wholesaler Nantwich Cheese, from Shropshire, digital marketing and brand agency Exesios in Staffordshire, high street knitting and crafting retailer Knit Nottingham and Leicestershire-based adhesives manufacturer Advance Tapes are among those who have been supported by the fund.

Jody Tableporter, Director UK and Regional Funds, British Business Bank said:

This funding milestone of £17m to 70 businesses, achieved in only nine months, indicates that Midlands businesses are ready to take on capital to help them achieve their ambitious growth plans.

This demand from businesses across very different sectors, from manufacturing and technology to retail, logistics and renewable energy, showing the incredible diversity of the business base we have here in the Midlands.

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund has also acted as a catalyst for private sector investment - helping to secure a further £10m, bringing the total investment into Midlands businesses to £27m. It is clear that this is just the beginning for the fund and the ambitious firms that access it.

Warwickshire based Totally RAD received £100,000 in debt finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, through appointed fund manager partner FDC. Founded by Christopher Rush, a professional musician, Totally RAD was launched in 2013 to provide high quality, face-to-face music tuition for students. The company is now the UK’s largest private music tuition provider, operating in more than 300 schools. It recently debuted its online learning platform - thanks to the backing of the fund.

Christopher Rush, founder and CEO, said:

We believe that professional music tuition should be accessible to everyone and we are leading the way with our work in schools. Our new online platform offering has been supported by the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, which complements our existing service, enabling pupils to continue lessons in the school holidays, and allowing those in rural areas to access lessons when there are no local teachers available. The funding also means we have been able to look at growth, and are planning on expanding our existing team of eight by an additional five people in the next 12 months.

Teaching music will always remain our number one priority, and thanks to the fund, we’ll be able to reach more people than ever before.

Jody Tableporter added:

Totally RAD is an exceptional business that has secured funding to bring its vision and purpose to life. It is just one example of the incredible drive we’ve seen from entrepreneurs across the Midlands - and I look forward to seeing how we can support even more of them in the months to come.

To find out more about the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II and apply for funding through the regional fund manager partners, please visit the website.

Further Information

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact [email protected].

Notes to editors

About the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II

Operated by the British Business Bank, the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II provides a mix of debt and equity funding. The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II will offer a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the various support and funding organisations from UK Government as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support the Midlands’ smaller businesses at all stages of their development.

The funds in which the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in all areas of the Midlands. Supported by Nations and Regions Investments Limited, a subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the Bank is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. Neither Nations and Regions Investments Limited nor British Business Bank plc are authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

www.midlandsengineinvestmentfund.co.uk

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