Keeping business investment local (Cheltenham Borough Council)

Cheltenham Borough Council is pleased to be the first council to lend via award winning local business-to-business provider FOLK2FOLK, to help local small to medium size enterprises with straightforward access to finance to support their business growth.

FOLK2FOLK matches local businesses looking for finance to grow, with investors looking to receive a return on their investment. By becoming a FOLK2FOLK lender, the council will be able to invest money locally whilst also benefiting local businesses. Cllr Rowena Hay, cabinet member for finance, says: “By partnering with FOLK2FOLK, we will be able to help local small businesses access finance to support their growth as well as continuing to help the council in its journey to become financially sustainable in this time of ever increasing government funding cuts.“This step builds upon recent significant local investments and long-term financial planning, to ensure the continuity of frontline services and public realm investment. This approach has helped the council manage the impact following the loss of £6.8m funding since 2010.”

Roy Warren, FOLK2FOLK managing director, said: “Our unique local lending model means we’re the perfect investment vehicle for councils. By investing via our platform, the council will be using their cash reserves to lend to local businesses, enabling them to access the finance they need to start, grow, refinance or diversify.

“More than £300 million of investor funds have been injected, via our platform, into local businesses across a variety of sectors, including agriculture, alternative energy, leisure and tourism, hospitality and property development. There is often a flow-on of benefits to the wider community resulting from local investment.  Usually this takes the form of job creation, retention of local talent and the shoring up of local supply chains, but it may also attract visitors to the area, increase house prices and result in improvements to local facilities and services; all of which contribute to the sustainability of healthy local economies which are essential for Britain’s future success.

External auditors, Grant Thornton, gave the council’s statements of accounts a clean bill of health at audit committee this September, demonstrating the council’s effective financial management following several years of budget reductions.

The council’s approach to financial sustainability has also recently achieved national recognition by winning the national local government MJ Award for ‘Best Commercial Council.’ The panel of expert judges stated: “The judging panel was extremely impressed by Cheltenham Borough Council’s ‘whole council’ approach to its commercial investment strategy. There was a clear link from strategy to the outcomes being evidenced, where the focus on delivering high impact social results for the borough was a stand-out feature.”

Building on this, the council has just been awarded ‘Best Commercial Council and Entrepreneurship Initiative’ at the 2019 APSE annual service awards.

A recent Local Government Association peer review also noted that ‘the council’s finances are in a good position to withstand the uncertainties that lie ahead.’

FOLK2FOLK’s business loans start at £50,000, range from six months to five years, and are secured against land or property. Find out more about business loans from FOLK2FOLK or call 0333 455 1902.