Government to offer SME loans

 Government to offer SMEs loans for product development

A £50m pilot project will see the government provide loans of up to £1m to SMEs to help them with late-stage R&D projects. The innovation loans will be fixed at an interest rate of 3.7% for three years and businesses will be given five years to pay the money back with no interest due until the product being developed has started to be commercialised. Innovate UK, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, will provide the loans. Ruth McKernan, chief executive of Innovate UK, said: "The UK does not find it difficult to start companies. Where we do struggle is in getting companies to a medium size, with, say, 10 to 20 full-time employees. What these companies really need is an income while they get their product to market.”

Source:   The Times (07/11/2017)