New Innovation Loans Announced

Innovate UK has announced a new pilot programme for innovation loans, which will affordable, patient, flexible funding for later-stage research & development projects with a clear route to commercial success.

Loans will be offered, through future competitions to be announced, to growth-oriented SMEs that are able to demonstrate that they have a high quality innovation project, that they will be able to afford the interest payments and subsequent repayments associated with a loan and that they need public sector support as they are unable to access finance for their project on standard commercial terms.

The objective of the workshops will be:

• To set out the rationale for introducing innovation loans

• To explain where innovation loans fit in the funding landscape, particularly in relation to grant funding, equity investment and commercial debt

• To highlight the key features of the innovation loans and how these will support innovative SMEs in their growth journey

• To explain the obligations associated with loans, particularly highlighting how they differ from grant funding

• To walk through the 'customer journey' that SMEs can expect to experience as innovation loans are delivered through a series of competitions with defined scopes

• To enable businesses to form a judgement (based on whether innovation loans are likely to meet their growth needs and whether they are likely to fit Innovate UK's selection criteria) about applying for future innovation loan competitions

 

Who should attend?

• Senior decision-makers (CEO / CFO / CTO) in innovative SMEs (businesses with fewer than 250 employees / turnover of less than c£50m / balance sheet total of less than c£43m)

• Key intermediaries in professional services firms and the public sector support landscape

We will also run specific and detailed competition briefing events as each of our planned competitions are launched in the coming months.

Presentations will be given by key members of Innovate UK's Innovation Loans team including:

• Tim Sawyer, Chief Investment Officer

• Nigel Walker, Head of Innovation Lending

• Scott O'Brien, Head of Lending Operations and Risk

• Clare Lindsay, Senior Project Manager

The Belfast event will be held on Tuesday, 7 November 2017 at 9:30am at Ormeau Baths, Ormeau Avenue.

(MH)