Launched last May by the government backed by five leading banks, the fund aims to help Britain’s fast growing SMEs find investment funding.
Mark Bryant, BGF business director, told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “We are looking for firms in which to invest between £2m to £10M in businesses with a turnover between £5M and £100M.”
The aim is to provide investment funding that can be difficult or costly to source through other means, he said.
The problems of sourcing capital, plus a range of other key business topics affecting SME food and drink firms will be the focus of Food Manufacture’s SME Business Leaders' Round Table. The free, half-day event will take place at legal specialist Eversheds’ Leeds office on Tuesday November 29. Click here for details.
Business plan
To qualify for BGF funding, businesses need to demonstrate their ability to grow their companies rapidly. These businesses will have a proper business plan and a clear idea of how they might use BGF's investment to grow their business over the long term.
Bryant stressed that the organisation would take only a minority stake in selected businesses. “We are interested in building, not buying, businesses,” he said.
Meanwhile, funding was only one of the benefits of the BGF scheme, said Bryant. “Selected firms will also benefit from the input of highly experienced entrepreneurs such as Audrey Baxter, ceo of Baxter Foods, long term financial development planning and network connections.”
Bryant, who has built up a number of manufacturing businesses, said: “We have a significant amount to invest in UK companies looking for growth capital and have had much interest from other business sectors, so have been surprised that only 17% of the applications we’ve received to date are from manufacturers.
£2.5bn capital
BGF is an independent firm with capital of up to £2.5bn, backed by five of the UK’s main banking groups - Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, and Standard Chartered. BGF is managed by an independent management team.
So far, the organisation has invested in two firms, is at an advanced stage of negotiations with another 30-40 businesses and has been contacted by a further 500 enterprises, including some food and drink manufacturers.
BGF employs 50 people at 60 offices throughout the UK.
To book your free place at Food Manufacture’s Business Leaders' Round Table, which will take place at Eversheds’ Leeds office on November 29, click here , telephone 01293 610231 or email foodmanevents@wrbm.com.
The event is free to attend for UK food and drink manufacturers.