It’s been a busy year for the team here at SWIG Finance. We’ve supported well over 500 businesses with funding worth £14.4m and secured several award nominations in the process – even winning Funder of the Year at Insider Media’s South West Dealmakers awards.
Aside from helping our clients and winning awards, we have enjoyed team get-togethers, hosting workshops, and welcoming new team arrivals.
A Day Out in Plymouth
Because the team is spread across the wider South West, from Cornwall to Hampshire, we don’t get together very often – so when we do, we like to have fun! That’s exactly what happened at our teambuilding day in Plymouth.
We started the day at the Duke of Cornwall Hotel in Plymouth, where we learned about our personality styles and the different communication methods for each style. This was a very informative and fascinating workshop led by Tess Peters of Accelerator Coaching. Highlights also included a treasure hunt around the city’s historic Hoe and the Barbican.
SWIG at the Awards
We were all thrilled when SWIG won Funder of the Year at Insider Media’s Dealmakers South West Awards. As a result, we go through to the National Dealmaker Awards, where we’ll compete against fellow regional winners in the category for Alternative Funder of the Year in February 2025.
Finance Director Dave Bullen attended the awards ceremony in July at the Marriot Hotel in Bristol. “Ours was one of many awards to be given to community development financial institutions (CDFIs), demonstrating the increased profile and recognition of the work we’re doing to provide funds to otherwise excluded business and individuals, and strengthening our position in the financial ecosystem.”
It was a good year for award nominations, with SWIG ranked among the best at the Business Leader awards (Community and Social Impact category) and the NACFB Commercial Lender Awards (Community Lender of the Year, celebrating lenders that have embraced ethical, socially responsible lending as a force for positive change).
Photo Credit: Insider Media
The British Business Bank comes to Truro
We were delighted to welcome representatives from the British Business Bank to our Truro offices twice this year.
Back in April we were visited by Jody Tableporter, Director UK & Regional Funds, Stephen Welton, Chair of British Business Bank, and Steve Conibear, Director of the UK Network, and Lloyd Brina, Senior Manager, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly, UK Network Insights & Strategy.
During this visit, we dropped by several local customers – Fishy Filaments in Newlyn, Pica Rico in Helston, and Cornish Changeovers in Redruth, who have benefitted from South West Investment Fund (SWIF) funding.
Customer visit with Fishy Filaments
In November, we welcomed Richard Bearman, Managing Director of Small Business Lending at British Business Bank. Richard was joined by one of our Start Up Loans customers, Andrew Mortimer of Buy Fudge, who was awarded a Start Up Loan to support the purchase of a new work vehicle and kitchen equipment at his premises in Par.
Senior business adviser Jo McEachen said: “It was great to see Richard, building on our long-standing relationship with Start Up Loans and the British Business Bank. Thanks to interaction with some of our applicants, we were able to discuss the importance of the opportunities Start Up Loans provide for small businesses, and the implications for our local communities.”
SWIG’s Start Up Loans Senior Manager with Richard Bearman, Managing Director of Small Business Lending at British Business Bank and Jo’s customer Andrew Mortimer of Buy Fudge
Workshopping with the Black South West Network
We were delighted to run a series of workshops with our friends at the Black South West Network in Bristol. Many of our clients say they lack confidence when approaching high-street lenders; this can be especially the case with applicants from ethnic minorities. This is where SWIG’s human approach comes in – we can hold your hand and guide you through processes and documents, building your confidence along the way.
Launch of British Business Bank’s Growth Guarantee Scheme
The successor scheme to the Recovery Loan Scheme, The Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS) launched in July 2024, this scheme is designed to support access to finance for UK small businesses as they look to invest and grow.
Of the new scheme, Senior Business Manager Nicola Parker said “We are proud to be accredited by British Business Bank for the Growth Guarantee Scheme. This scheme enables us to continue supporting smaller, underserved businesses and helping them to reach their full potential”.
Shouting about what we do
Our 23/24 impact report was launched in June, and marketing and communications manager Lisa Nathan is very proud of it. “It’s the best one yet,” she says. “It does a really good job of presenting what SWIG Finance does and the positive impact it has, in a visual way, with real-life case studies from businesses we’ve helped.” Read it here.
Welcome to our newest team members
We’ve had some new talent join the ranks of our growing team this year.
- Amanda Sheppard has joined the Business Loans team, supporting customers in Wiltshire, Dorset and Hampshire from her base in Andover. Amanda has over 23 years of experience in the financial services sector, and in-depth experience supporting SMEs in the retail, leisure, agricultural and commercial sectors throughout the South and West. In her spare time, she’s a keen tennis player and bell ringer.
- In Truro, we have three new Start Up Loan officers.
Jhaenelle Gray, from Truro, graduated this year from the University of Southampton with a BSc in politics and economics. During that time, she launched a non-profit to help Black and ethnic minority students succeed at university; she continues to take part in career talks and social events.
Wendy Langdon, from Plymouth, has been running small businesses since her 20s, with a particular interest in the marine sector. Most recently, she has combined managing a sailing school with a return to further education, gaining an MBA in enterprise, innovation and entrepreneurship from Essex University.
Ellie Garbett graduated from Cardiff University with a BA (Hons) in accounting and finance. She currently lives at her gran’s B&B in St Ives, and in her spare time loves riding her horses at Carbis Bay. - A journalist in the South West for nearly 30 years and now our freelance content creator, Kirstie Newton, loves hearing our business owners’ inspiring stories and transforming them into SWIG case studies. She loves music, theatre and Cornish coastal walks.
2025: The Year Ahead
With some exciting announcements coming in January, we wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise! But we can tell you that we have new funds launching which will provide a significant capital boost, enabling us to continue supporting more and more businesses each year.
We are also recruiting several new Business Managers throughout the South West to join our growing team – watch this space.
And, of course, we look forward to launching our 2024/25 Impact Report.
About SWIG Finance
SWIG Finance is a people-based lender that provides loans and support to help smaller businesses in the South and West Country grow. We base our lending decisions on potential rather than collateral, which means that we can often support businesses when others can't.
We’re growing every year. In 2024/25, we lent £14.8m to 501 businesses, helping to create and secure over 1,272 jobs and generate £75.7m in social impact. Download the report here.
If you’d like an informal chat about your funding requirements, get in touch with our friendly and professional team to see how we can help: info@swigfinance.co.uk / 01872 227 930