30th December 2018

Introducing the Finance Hub

If you’re a small business looking to finance growth then it can be daunting picking your way through the myriad of options available.

That’s why the British Business Bank has created an online information hub designed to highlight the sources of external finance.

Called the Finance Hub, it has been built to help businesses understand and discover the finance options that could enable them to grow.

The Hub includes an online resource centre and separate sections on understanding financing options, getting investor ready, and a directory of finance experts.

There are many different external sources of finance but they can be grouped into two main categories – equity and debt.

Equity finance is where a business sells shares to raise money. Debt finance is where a business borrows money from a lender, and then pays it back with interest.

There are many different sources of equity funding. These include corporate venture capital, angel investment, crowdfunding and even an Initial Public Offering via a public listing.

Debt finance can also take many forms. It might be via an overdraft, business loan, invoice finance or peer-to-peer lending, to name a few.

There is huge choice available and each of these options (plus many more) are explained in detail on the hub, which includes a self-diagnostic tool to help explain what option might be right for you.

Being investor ready is also important because investors want to see businesses that are prepared. The Finance Hub can help you understand the right questions to ask, the routes to investment and how to tick the right boxes for your investor.

The British Business Bank is a Government-owned economic development bank dedicated to making finance markets work better for smaller businesses, and to reduce imbalances in access to finance for smaller businesses across the UK.

That’s why we have partnered with the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership to create the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF).

This provides commercial debt and equity finance between £25,000 and £2 million to small and medium sized businesses to facilitate economic growth in the region.

To find out more about CIOSIF and the Finance Hub visit www.ciosif.co.uk

Ken Cooper is Managing Director, Venture Capital Solutions, at the British Business Bank.