Lancashire County Council has selected investment specialist GC Business Finance (GCBF) to deliver its £11.25m Rosebud business finance fund to growing businesses in the county.
Under the new funding package, GCBF will oversee Rosebud loans from £10,000 to £300,000 for businesses in Lancashire over the next five years.
Rosebud aims to create around 150 new jobs per year and will focus on sectors such as aerospace; advanced manufacturing; digital and creative; energy and environment; health innovation; and financial and professional services.
County councillor Michael Green, cabinet member for economic development, environment and planning, said: “Over the last 30 years Rosebud has helped thousands of businesses across Lancashire to expand by tapping into finance to create new jobs, move premises and invest in technology.
“We’re incredibly pleased to be able to allocate a further £11.25m pounds to support growing Lancashire businesses to achieve their growth aspirations. This will lead to new jobs being created, for the benefit of Lancashire residents.”
Andy Walker, head of business growth and innovation at Lancashire County Council, said: “GC Business Finance already works closely with the Access 2 Finance service in Lancashire and has strong relationships with local businesses and the professional services community.
“It will help provide a seamless transition for the delivery of Rosebud finance, helping businesses create employment opportunities, especially the graduate level jobs that can help us retain talent in Lancashire.”
Established in 2002, GC Business Finance provides a range of alternative finance options for growing businesses that have been unable to obtain funding through a mainstream lender.
It delivers more than £60m in finance to over 5,000 small and medium sized enterprises each year. This includes managing the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund’s ‘microfinance’ funds, providing loans of between £25k and £100k to businesses across the Northern Powerhouse regions.
Paul Breen, director of GC Business Finance, said: “Lancashire is a strong and vibrant economy and home to a vast number of successful businesses. However, some companies struggle to access funding through traditional means which is where Rosebud can play a vital role in helping them achieve growth.
“While we already deliver funding solutions in Lancashire, being able to offer Rosebud finance will add further value and capacity to the support we can offer to Lancashire businesses. We look forward to getting the Rosebud funds out to market and stimulating further economic growth.”
GC Business Finance’s Lancashire team will be based at Cotton Court in Preston. The team will work alongside Lancashire County Developments Ltd, part of the council’s economic development service, to provide finance to Lancashire businesses.
The Rosebud fund was previously managed by Mercia Fund Managers since its inception in 1986.
Paul Taberner, head of debt finance at Mercia, said: “It has been an enormous privilege to oversee the Rosebud fund over the last 30 years, during which time we have supported some great businesses which have gone on to do great things for the region.
“As the lending market continues to change, our business model has evolved to focus on higher value loans which is why we chose not to tender for the Rosebud contract this time. We will of course continue to support Lancashire businesses using our other funds and we wish GC Business Finance well as they continue to build on the success of Rosebud.”
