Today, the Mayor of London has announced that more than £100m will be invested into small businesses through the newly created Greater London Investment Fund. The fund is now open for small businesses to apply!
The Greater London Investment Fund has been developed specifically to target businesses which have had difficulties in securing crucial investment.
While London has a world-leading financial ecosystem, some small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle to access the funding they need to grow as lenders often tend to focus on larger companies with a more established credit history, for example.
The fund will also focus on industries identified as important for the capital’s economy by the Mayor in his Economic Development Strategy. These include cultural and creative industries, financial and business services, life sciences, low carbon and environmental goods and services, tech and digital, and tourism.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy – they account for more than 99 per cent of all businesses in the capital and support more than half of all jobs.”
Small businesses can now apply by contacting either of the independent fund managers – MMC Ventures and The FSE Group – directly.
The bulk of the money for the new fund comes from European Union sources, which the Government is yet to give any assurances about replacing post-Brexit: £35 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme, overseen by City Hall and the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP); and £50 million is from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
