European loans 'to help SMEs'

Posted on 31 October 2008

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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK are set to benefit from up to £4 billion in loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB), chancellor Alistair Darling has announced.

The finance will be available over the next four years, he told attendees at a City of London Corporation seminar on supporting small business.

Mr Darling said it was necessary to make sure that the UK's SMEs have access to the "loans and capital they need to help their businesses grow and develop".

He added: "I am delighted by this commitment from EIB and UK banks to get more finance to small firms, and to ensure the funding is more flexible and easier to access than in the past."

Last week, skills secretary John Denham confirmed that all government bills to SMEs would be paid within ten working days as opposed to thirty, as part of measures geared at ensuring their financial security.

Category: General News

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