NEWS & EVENTS
Local News
South West Investment Group celebrates milestone
24th July 2006
An organisation set up to boost small business in the South West is celebrating an "incredible" 10th anniversary.
Since launching its first loan scheme in 1996 the South West Investment Group - SWIG - has invested more than £6.5million in over 600 small and medium sized enterprises in the region.
In that time SWIG, which has offices in Exeter and Truro, has also helped create over 1,200 new jobs, becoming the region's biggest provider of complementary loan finance in the process.
The not-for-profit-company, set up in 1989, concentrates its support on potential rather than track record or security - providing both start-ups and established businesses with vital cash injections where traditional sources of finance such as banks may be limited.
SWIG Managing Director Peter Casey believes the gap funding SWIG has provided over the past decade has been the key for hundreds of entrepreneurs to start businesses and already established businesses to grow and develop.
"In the last 10 years we have achieved an incredible amount in the South West and I think we deserve to be proud of that. We started with a very small loan fund that was one of the first of its kind anywhere. Now, to have helped over 600 businesses to generate more than 1,200 jobs, bringing millions of pounds into the regional economy, is testament to just how successful we have been.
"The South West region has become an incredibly vibrant business community with a great deal of creativity, enthusiasm and knowledge. What we have been able to do is provide the gap funding to support this.
"From modest beginnings we have accessed new streams of public and private sector finance which, with careful management, have allowed us to develop a range of funding options for businesses across the South West.
"In the past 10 years we've helped hundreds of entrepreneurs open up new horizons by not only supporting a huge variety of start-up and early-stage enterprises across the region, but also by assisting established businesses that were struggling to find the funding they needed to further grow." said Mr Casey.
He added that a crucial factor in SWIG's success had been the support of key partners and the expertise of the region's public and private sector business intermediaries, through which the finance is accessed.
Funds are delivered in collaboration with Business Link and the wider business advisory network, and applications are accepted only through recognised intermediaries.
"It's truly remarkable to think that these loan funds have been going for 10 years and proves that there is a real market need for the type of gap funding we provide. It's hugely rewarding to have been involved in so many success stories and we look forward to being a part of so many more to come," added Mr. Case.
Article courtesy of www.southwestinvestmentgroup.co.uk where more news stories detailing the sucessses of SWIG supported companies in the region can be found in addition to information regarding SWIG business loans.
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