• Swindon & Wiltshire News
• Wednesday July 19 2023
• Author Name: Staff Writer

Record impact lending for 2022-23, reports SWIG Finance

SWIG Finance’s annual Impact Report has been published for 2022-23, and the findings show another record-breaking year of impact lending.

Over £14 million in funding was provided by SWIG for small and medium businesses across the South West, many of which were not able to source funding from mainstream providers, representing more than £44 million of impact value.

In 2022-23, SWIG Finance beat all previous activity levels by providing 559 loans worth £14 million to 478 start-ups and growing SMEs throughout the region.

SWIG reports this lending helped create and safeguard 1,482 jobs within established small businesses and the creation of 414 start-ups, with a combined economic benefit totalling more than £44 million.

The impact values were generated by SWIG using the CDFI Economic Impact Tool.

“Throughout the financial year, the business community witnessed various external shocks, which presented new challenges and headwinds: rising energy and other input prices, staff shortages, and higher interest rates, to name just some. Business confidence declined as the year progressed. Yet against this backdrop, SWIG was able to help a record number of small businesses with their financial needs,” said a SWIG spokesperson.

“It’s important to note that while some 40 per cent of lending went to entrepreneurs creating new businesses, 53 per cent of lending to established SMEs was to support growth and productivity.”

Of this year’s lending statistics, SWIG’s managing director, John Peters, said: “I’m proud that we have supported so many remarkable entrepreneurs and small business owners. These resilient, determined, and creative people are building enterprises that are not just surviving but often thriving – and making a positive difference to their local communities, even in these difficult times.”

Having recently secured new contracts through the British Business Bank, including the £20 million smaller loans fund as part of the South West Investment Fund, and the South West regional contract for the Start Up Loans scheme, a spokesperson said: “SWIG will continue to support those businesses that are unable to source funding through traditional means.”

Photo: John Peters, managing director of SWIG Finance