Business Banking & Finance
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY WILL BOOST THE WEST MIDLANDS ECONOMY
Individuals and companies have a chance to invest in the local economy between now and 24th March 2020 and earn up to 9.1% return per annum through a share offer from ART Business Loans (ART). ART is a Community Development Finance
Institution, designed to lend to viable businesses in the West Midlands which do not meet the banks’ lending criteria, leaving them unable to borrow either at all or in full. Earlier this year ART launched a pioneering share
offer which raised £250,000 in new capital to lend. Its latest share offer is now open on the Ethex investment platform and ART is aiming higher, as Chief Executive Steve Walker explains: “Demand for appropriate loan finance for small businesses and
IMPACT 2013 TO 2019
social enterprises continues to grow. We’re on target to lend £3m this year and know we can do more, so we are seeking additional capital to enable us to increase our lending and our impact on the local economy.” ART’s average loan size is £35,000 – a sum which
it can be particularly challenging for some businesses to get elsewhere. “We’re here to facilitate inclusive growth, job creation and preservation,” says Steve. “Many of our borrowers have come back to us more than once over the years for top up loans or new loans as their businesses and market conditions evolve. It is particularly gratifying to see businesses that we helped to get started, grow into significant and successful companies.”
INVEST IN ART
Investors in ART earn a return in the form of Community Investment Tax Relief (CITR). CITR offers 5% per annum of the total sum invested off personal or corporate tax liabilities for five years. This equates to a pre-tax return of 9.1% for the highest rate Income Tax payers and 5.8% for Corporation Tax payers.
To find out more and buy shares visit
www.ethex.org.uk/ART2020.
THE PERSONAL TOUCH
BORROW FROM ART
ART is a long-standing Chamber member, based at Innovation Birmingham Campus, and lends between £10,000 and £150,000 to businesses operating in the West Midlands for any legitimate business purpose. ART’s aim is to help businesses to grow and diversify. If a business needs more than £150,000 ART can lend alongside other providers, including the banks, helping to make up a larger package of finance. Businesses like Newey & Bloomer and MyEd have benefitted in recent years:
ART’s highly knowledgeable and experienced Loans Managers make lending decisions based on an understanding of applicants’ and borrowers’ businesses and their needs. They will work with a business to ensure it has the most appropriate funding in place, signposting to other providers where relevant.
BIRMINGHAM SMALL BUSINESS LOANS FUND
NEWEY & BLOOMER
“We started by applying to our bank for an overdraft,” says Lisa, “but because the company had been dormant for a number of years, it was treated as a new business and we were given a resounding ‘no’ to that or a loan. The ART team was fantastic. They were lovely people and really helpful. We gave them the paperwork then met at their offices. They were interested in the business and the money we needed came through promptly.”
MYED
“Initially we went to the banks for an overdraft facility,” says Harmil Pardesi, “but they didn’t understand the concept of our research engine, which is designed to help parents, young people and students to plan their pathway through education. They were not supportive at all. My father knew of ART so we approached them. Martin came out to visit and could really understand the vision and the opportunity.”
Read their full stories and those of other ART borrowers at
www.artbusinessloans/casestudies
With support from Birmingham City Council, Thin Cats peer lending platform and its investors and Unity Trust bank, ART operates a fund specifically for Birmingham-based businesses. The Birmingham Small Business Loan Fund lends up to £100,000. £2m has been lent in the first two years and there is another £1m available this year.
HOW TO APPLY FOR A LOAN
To apply for a loan from ART call 0121 359 2444 or visit
www.artbusinessloans.co.uk for more information.
November 2019 CHAMBERLINK 61
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