SWIG celebrated 25 years of operation this month with an event at Trelissick Gardens in Cornwall with speakers at the event including Ben Hughes, CEO of the Community Development Finance Association, David Beaumont, South West Area Director of SME banking for Lloyds and Toby Parkins, President of the Cornwall Chambers of Commerce. SWIG celebrated the milestone with friends and stakeholders of the organisation which SWIG took the opportunity to thank for their ongoing support over the past 25 years.
The event was also marked with record lending figures, with more than £1.4 million lent across the South West in the last quarter.
SWIG lent a total of £1,421,428 to over 130 companies in the region in July, August and September to both start up and existing businesses looking to invest in future growth.
With funding streams including the government-backed Start Up Loan fund, Regional Growth Fund and European Regional Development Fund for businesses with growth potential and the South West Microcredit Fund for businesses in urban areas across the South West, SWIG can support businesses and entrepreneurs needing finance which can’t access funding from traditional sources.
John Peters, Managing Director of SWIG, said: ” We are thrilled that we have achieved record lending in the last quarter.
“Not only does this show an appetite for growth across the South West region but this also demonstrates the continuing need for alternative finance providers such as SWIG in supporting that business growth.”
This appeared in the Western Morning News, The Bristol Post, Business Cornwall, South West Business Insider, South West Business