SIB awarded £28m of ERDF funding from new SME Holding Fund

Kerry Sharp, Head of the Scottish Investment Bank, said:

“We welcome the Scottish Government’s announcement today regarding the £40m of new ERDF funding to help Scottish businesses to grow and become more innovative.  In the context of the current economic environment, ensuring effective access to growth finance for companies is more important than ever.  While levels of investment into Scottish companies has grown significantly over the last few years there remains considerable competition for growth finance and this new funding will be critical to continued success.

“I’m pleased to announce that Scottish Enterprise has been awarded £28m of this new funding. This helps the Scottish Investment Bank, Scottish Enterprise’s investment arm, to deliver the innovative Scottish Co-Investment and Venture Funds which provide equity finance to fund the growth plans of ambitious Scottish companies.    

This activity has a catalytic and positive influence on increasing both the supply of scarce capital to innovative growth companies and to delivering sustainable economic benefits.  These funds operate in partnership with the private sector and increase the number of active investors, the amount of capital being invested into early stage Scottish companies and help to raise the international profile of Scottish equity investment. 

“We look forward to continuing to work with our partners to collectively deliver a broader range of finance to support the next generation of ambitious Scottish companies.”

Click here for the full press release from the Scottish Government.