NCM Chief Executive, Kathleen McLeay, was delighted to attend the launch of the British Business Investment Fund for Scotland (“IFS”) in Glasgow on Thursday. The event was very well attended by a number of participants from a wide range of disciplines and everyone keen to learn more about the fund.
The IFS is part of a series of Nations and Regions Investment Funds totalling £1.6 billion. The Scottish fund covers the whole of Scotland and is to provide £150million of funding, creating opportunities for new and growing businesses and boosting productivity, innovation and jobs. IFS provides funding to appointed fund managers who offer three different funding options with loans of £25,000 to £2 million and equity investments of up to £5 million.
Kathleen commented that it was great to see more funds being deployed for investment in Scotland at a time when many businesses are struggling to get third party funding and in general, Scotland is underweight on equity investment at all stages. She also noted the debt element will hopefully plug some of the gap where traditional bank lending is not available.
NCM look forward to watching the success of the Fund as it helps fuel the innovative and entrepreneurial businesses that Scotland is well known for.