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British Business Investments commits £30 million at the first close of Shard Credit Partners first direct lending fund

Press release 11 December 2017

British Business Investments, the commercial arm of the British Business Bank, has completed a commitment of £30m in the initial closing of SCRP Fund I as part of a first close of the fund with £90m of commitments.

The fund will provide loans of £5-15m to UK SMEs with turnover of less than £100m.

British Business Investments is providing the funding under its Investment Programme, which has now committed £700m to providers of finance to UK smaller businesses. The programme helps to widen the choice of funding SMEs can find on the market.

Shard Credit Partners is seeking to raise additional commitments for the fund in 2018.

British Business Investments is committed to providing capital to direct lending funds focused on SME lending, where there is a continued under-serve by banks and other lenders. We are pleased to make this commitment to Shard Credit Partners as it launches its first fund, and look forward to seeing new finance made available to SMEs throughout the UK. Catherine Lewis La Torre CEO of British Business Investments
We are delighted to have held a first close and greatly appreciate the support of our investors, which includes a significant £30m commitment from British Business Investments. We can now focus on providing much needed flexible loan capital to help small businesses invest in their own growth and expansion plans, supporting job creation and growth in the critically important SME segment of the UK economy. Alastair Brown Chief Executive of Shard Credit Partners

Further Information

Notes to editors

About Shard Credit Partners

Shard Credit Partners was established in 2014 with the primary aim of raising a direct lending fund to address the well-known financing gap which has hindered growth and expansion of SMEs operating in the UK lower mid-market since the 2008 financial crisis.  The fund will provide innovatively structured senior and junior loan capital to a diverse range of SMEs (including private equity-backed businesses) operating in the UK lower mid-market (defined as companies with an enterprise value below £50 million and having between 50 and 249 full-time employees).

Shard Credit Partners will primarily target borrowers with annual revenues of below £100 million that are finding it increasingly difficult to source long-term financing from traditional bank sources.  The fund will provide flexible loan capital in support of business growth and expansion, or for event driven M&A activity, such as a transformative acquisition or a management buy-out or other change of control.  The fund will lend to businesses located throughout the UK and operating across a diverse range of industries.  Typical loan sizes will range between £5-15 million per borrower, with maturities of three to seven years. Shard Credit Partners is an appointed representative of Shard Capital AIFM LLP, which is authorised and regulated by the FCA and is a full-scope AIFM under the AIFMD.

About Shard Capital

London based Shard Capital is an independent financial services company offering a full range of broking, asset management and corporate capital services.  Founded in 2010 as an institutional fixed income broker, it has evolved both organically and by acquisition and now numbers over 60 professionals and approximately €1.0 billion equivalent in assets under management and administration.

Additional information can be found at shardcapital.com.

About British Business Investments

British Business Investments is the trading name of British Business Bank Investments Ltd, the commercial arm of the British Business Bank. It aims to earn a commercial return by investing – through finance providers – in smaller businesses and small mid-caps, pursuing investments on a fully commercial basis without receiving any advantage from the government. Find out more at bbinv.co.uk.

British Business Bank Investments Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the UK government’s economic development bank. Neither entity is authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

British Business Bank plc and its principal operating subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such.

A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on the British Business Bank website.