Barclays has launched a £100million fund to help fast growing technology businesses get to the next level. The bank will lend up to £5m to some of the most innovative UK technology businesses.
Ashok Vaswani (pictured), chief executive of Barclays Personal and Corporate Banking, said: "With this new drive, we will be able to support businesses from their inception to becoming major global players.
"Entrepreneurs and SMEs are the life blood of the UK economy and the technology sector is an incubator for many of these talented individuals and businesses. The rapid growth we've seen in the UK rivals Silicon Valley."
A recent report by Barclays showed that UK technology businesses are expected to grow four times faster than GDP in 2015.
Sean Duffy, managing director, Barclays' Technology, Media and Telecoms team, said: "Fast-growth technology companies in the US have long been able to access debt finance early in the life cycle. We believe it is important for fast-growth technology companies in the UK to be able to access a similar range of financing solutions."
Because fast-growing technology firms develop more rapidly than the 15 year average of traditional businesses, they stand to benefit from new access to debt finance, as an alternative to selling equity. This will also allow entrepreneurs to retain control of their company's development and concentrate on growth.
Author
Tom Austin-Morgan
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk