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Cumbrian
lender helps growing businesses
The Cumbria Asset Reinvestment
Trust (CART) has been accredited by the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills to offer business loans of up to £50,000
under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG). It is the only
non-bank in Cumbria accredited as part of this business finance
initiative but awareness of the support is low and Grahame Latus,
Chief Executive of CART is keen to make sure that local Cumbrian
businesses know what might be available to them.
“The Guarantee scheme was launched at
the beginning of 2009,” explained Grahame, “to make sure that
finance was available to businesses that needed loans to help them
to survive and thrive. However, the rate of lending through the
conventional banks is not meeting its targets and a recent survey
showed that less than 40% of businesses were even aware of the
scheme. So the Government is extending the deadline for these
loans and has accredited additional lenders like CART to make sure
the money is available and accessible to businesses as soon as
possible.”
The national funding of the EFG
exceeds £1.3 billion and any business with an annual turnover of
under £25 million can apply. Repayment terms can vary with
repayments possible over between 3 months and 10 years. CART’s
accreditation means that the Penrith-based team can offer a wider
range of loans and terms and be even more flexible to meet the
needs of different Cumbrian businesses and their situations.
One of the first Cumbrian businesses
to benefit from CART’s involvement in EFG is Capelli Studio on
King Street in Penrith. Kirsty Jackson had worked in the Studio
for six years but, returning to work after maternity leave last
year, she had the opportunity to buy the business from its current
owners. Her success in arranging that has secured nine jobs
including her own and also created one new post.
“Sorting this out has been quite
stressful,” said Kirsty, “but the team at CART have helped a lot.
Whenever I have had queries on the forms or on the information
that I needed to gather together, CART have been there to help.”
Grahame Latus continued: “This loan
will enable the business to move forward and grow but Kirsty has
not had to put up tangible security. Without CART intervention,
Kirsty was struggling to raise the finance for the deal from
conventional banks so she is exactly the sort of business owner
that the Enterprise Finance Guarantee is targeting.”
CART is a Community Development
Finance Institution, part of a network of alternative sources of
business finance across the UK. “We have now helped almost 150
Cumbrian businesses with loans in just over four years,” said
Grahame Latus, “and they cover the full range of sectors and
sizes. Preserving or creating jobs is a priority at the moment
and many of our clients are using CART loans to do just that.
Kirsty is typical of the local business owners who need practical
financial support to enable them to shape the future of their
companies.”
Grahame
Latus of CART meets Kirsty Jackson and the team at Capelli Studio
in Penrith, the first business to get finance from the Enterprise
Finance Guarantee via CART. |
