The British Business Bank (BBB) has launched a funding programme, ‘Enable’, aimed at improving the provision of asset and lease finance to smaller UK businesses, and is seeking lessors to partner it.
In a statement on its website, the BBB said asset finance is an important source of finance for smaller businesses, but providers of such finance often lack the scale to access capital markets – a key source of funding for lending institutions – in a cost-efficient manner.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
Funded by the UK government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and run by the BBB, Enable will ‘warehouse’ newly-originated asset finance receivables from different originators – bringing them together into a new structure. Once the structure is big enough, it will seek to refinance a portion of its funding through securitisation techniques, thereby enabling smaller finance providers to tap institutional investors’ funds.
The BBB is requesting lessors interested in participating in Enable to download its request for proposals. ~
Simon Goldie, head of asset finance at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said: "The Enable programme will allow small, challenger banks and non-bank lenders to access cost-efficient funding from the capital markets. This is great news for the thousands of small businesses that want to finance new equipment to help them grow.
"We are very pleased to have helped in the development of the Enable programme and look forward to continuing to work closely with the British Business Bank."
In 2013 FLA members provided £89.0bn of new finance to UK businesses and households. £22.4bn of finance was provided to businesses and the public sector. FLA members financed almost 27% of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software in the UK last year
