News

British Business Bank agrees new facility with Simply Asset Finance that will provide more than £60m of funding to UK small and medium size businesses

  • Transaction is the sixth under British Business Bank’s ENABLE Funding programme
  • Facility is designed to unlock further funding for the UK small and medium size businesses (SMEs)
  • Simply Asset Finance has arranged more than £35m of financing in the last seven months

The British Business Bank today announces that it is providing a facility to Simply Asset Finance that will increase its funding to SMEs by £60m for critical requirements like hire purchases, finance leases and refinancing. The transaction is the sixth made under the Bank’s ENABLE Funding programme, which aims to increase the supply of leasing and asset finance to UK SMEs.

Simply Asset Finance is a new non-bank lender which was setup in April 2017. It is led by Mike Randall and backed by the investor Cabot Square Capital[1], and provides funding to small and medium sized businesses to help them purchase equipment, free up working capital and invest in growth. In the short time since it was established, the firm has already arranged more than £35m of financing across a variety of sectors – including manufacturing, construction, transport and recycling.

Since the first transaction in September 2015, the Bank’s ENABLE Funding programme has supported lending to over 10,000 businesses[2].

Mike Randall, CEO of Simply Asset Finance, said: “The funding from the British Business Bank will allow us to further support those businesses that are looking to invest in the future, and consequently drive the country’s growth. We’ve long recognised the need to provide customers with a better, simpler, transparent and more agile financial experience.

“Many of our clients just do not want to deal with large corporate lenders and banks. Our ethos – which echoes that of the British Business Bank – is simple: we want to help organisations unlock the best funding solution for their businesses and generate more working capital. We are delighted to agree this facility and look forward to working with the Bank long term.”

Keith Morgan, CEO of the British Business Bank, said: “Our ENABLE Funding programme helps support smaller finance providers like Simply Asset Finance who share our goal of increasing the supply of finance to small and medium sized businesses. Leasing and asset finance is a vital form of funding for many smaller businesses looking to scale up. It allows them to buy or replace the equipment that they need to take their business to the next level and realise their growth potential.

“The Bank is committed to increasing the volume of funding available to smaller businesses. We’re also committed to increasing the diversity of finance provision, allowing exciting and innovative non-bank entrants like Simply Asset Finance to help provide even more funding options to smaller businesses around the UK.”

Richard McDougall, Partner at Cabot Square Capital, said: “We are very pleased with the excellent progress that Simply Asset Finance has made in a short period of time, and it is great that the British Business Bank is supporting Simply Asset Finance alongside us.

“Mike and his team provide an invaluable service to businesses across the country – by lending Cabot’s institutional capital and the Government’s funds back into the real economy in a responsible and modern way.”

ENDS

 

For more information contact:

Simply Asset Finance

Chantal Heckford / Imran Hawkins, Lansons

chantalh@lansons.com / imranh@lansons.com

07801 748683 / 0207 490 8828

British Business Bank

Andy Johnson-Creek, MHP Communications, +44 20 3128 8184, bbb@mhpc.com

Scott Shearer, British Business Bank, Scott.Shearer@british-business-bank.co.uk

 

Notes to editors

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK’s national economic development bank.

Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity. Our remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.

British Business Bank programmes support almost £4bn of finance to more than 60,000 smaller businesses and participate in a further £6bn finance to small mid-cap businesses (as at end of June 2017).

As well as increasing both supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of the finance options, including bank loans and asset finance, available to smaller businesses. It has published the Business Finance Guide (in partnership with the ICAEW, and a further 21 business and finance organisations). This guide impartially sets out the range finance options available to businesses – from start-ups to SMEs and growing mid-sized companies. Take the interactive journey at www.thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/bbb or download/print a copy.

As the holding company of the group operating under the trading name of British Business Bank, it is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government which is not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The British Business Bank operates under its own brand name through a number of subsidiaries, one of which is authorised and regulated by the FCA.

British Business Bank plc and its principal operating subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on the British Business Bank plc website.

About Simply Asset Finance

Simply Asset Finance (SAF) is a new asset finance business established in April 2017. In its first seven months Simply Asset Finance has originated more than £35m of new business to UK SMEs. Simply Asset Finance is majority owned by a Cabot Square Capital fund.

About Cabot Square Capital LLP

Cabot Square Capital specialises in investing in, building and growing businesses within the financial services and operating property sectors in the UK and Western Europe. Over the last 21 years, the firm has helped build over 25 companies, with a particular focus in developing platforms to provide finance to the SME and consumer sectors. Cabot presently has circa £850m of institutional capital under management.

[1] Cabot Square Capital backed the independent lenders LDF and Henry Howard Finance, which have each secured £51 million asset finance facility through the British Business Bank’s ENABLE Funding programme

[2] As of end of September 2017