Merseyside business loan and equity provider MSIF is offering loans of up to £250,000 to firms looking to recover from the coronavirus crisis. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool-based business loan and equity provider MSIF is establishing a £1m fund to support SMEs impacted by the coronavirus epidemic.

MSIF is already an accredited lender of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and is making an extra £1m in loans available to businesses across the North West under its own Merseyside Loan & Equity Fund (MLEF). Loans of up to £250,000 are available via the fund.

Having recently completed its first investments, further applications are now being welcomed with such support being in addition to MSIF’s funding options for debt, equity and start-up finance.

In addition, MSIF and GC Business Finance can offer CBILS backed loans from their £10m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) Microfinance Fund across the whole of the North West for SMEs looking to fill the funding gap, for both growth and development projects.

Loans from £25,000 to £100,000 are available with CBILS backed loans from £50,001 subject to eligibility to businesses impacted by COVID.

With the expanded offering on CBILS backed funding, MSIF aims to encourage further resilience for manufacturing, tech, digital, creative and life sciences sectors in particular.

Paul Humphray, investment director at MSIF, said: “Covid-19 has dramatically changed the market as we know it and MSIF wants to do everything it can to support those businesses that had real potential prior to the pandemic, and may now need funding to help in their recovery. 

“It’s a time of significant change and we need to adapt and make our services available to SMEs who need it most. We are pleased to see the positive impact the CBILS has made to businesses across the North West, now we want to help fill the gap in funding to ensure resumption of growth for a strong and thriving economy.”

Janice Mears, head of business growth at Growth Platform, added: “We need to ensure businesses
across the city region are fully supported so that they can continue to operate and help our city
region recover from the far-reaching impact of COVID-19.”

For further information about the available finance email info@msif.co.uk or click here.