Liverpool loan and equity provider set up the MSIF Finance Hub in June 2017 with the aim of working with SMEs start-up ventures and aspiring entrepreneurs. Tony McDonough reports
More than 1,500 Liverpool city region business have secured extra funding after seeking advice from a hub set up by loan and equity provider MSIF.
The organisation set up the MSIF Finance Hub in June 2017 with the aim of working with SMEs start-up ventures and aspiring entrepreneurs to advise them on the best ways to secure funding and act as a single point of access to finance for the city region.
Led by Finance Hub facilitator, George Wright, it provides a free service to individual businesses by looking at their propositions and helping with key financial information including cash flows and yearly forecasts, ensuring that the business is investment ready.
As well as financial support, the hub has access to a collaborative network of more than 180 referral partners. By working closely with all boroughs of the Liverpool city region, including the LCR Growth Platform, the MSIF Finance Hub can carry out detailed conversations and investigations to help determine the best route for funding.
Mr Wright said: “It is important to work collaboratively with fellow organisations across the region to best prepare aspiring businesses for success. There is real and tangible talent out there that just needs that extra support and guidance to help them achieve their business goals.”
Mark Borzomato, chief executive of AFM (MSIF’s fund manager subsidiary company). added: “The MSIF Finance Hub is an important part of our offering, providing significant local impact. We have a responsibility to invest our time and efforts in people to help achieve their ambitions.
“Through the support that the Finance Hub provides, we can better support the economy of the city region, not only by guiding opportunity but by sharing the expertise and knowledge we have gained over 25 years of supporting SMEs across the wider North West.”