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SMEs queue up for help from Aston Reinvestment Trust

Sep 30 2008

A lending trust that supports small businesses and entrepreneurs has reported a huge rise in approaches as the credit crunch intensifies.

The Aston Reinvestment Trust (ART) had previously reported difficulties finding clients after it was given a share of a £1 million credit crunch funding pot from regional development agency AWM.

But as traditional sources of lending dry up in the teeth of the banking crisis, it has seen a huge upswing in enquiries since August.

Speaking at the trust’s AGM, chief executive Steve Walker said: “We have been very busy in the last couple of months, having had a much quieter than expected start to the financial year.

“We have over £1 million to lend to businesses in Birmingham and Solihull in 2008-9 and can increase that sum if the demand is there.

“Since we started 11 years ago, we have lent £6.4 million enabling over 360 local borrowers, operating in a wide variety of markets, to create or preserve over 3,000 jobs.

“Our kind of support is needed now more than ever. Our time has really come. As the banks are set to become increasingly risk-averse, we are here, unaffected by the credit crunch, able to help businesses carry on trading, supporting them through cashflow problems and enabling them to invest in growth or diversification.”

ART is an independent organisation backed by both public and private sector investors and by philanthropic individuals interested primarily in a social rather than a financial return. It often lends alongside banks and other finance providers as part of a package.

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