Lloyds Bank pledges £1.3billion lending boost for North West Business

2019 is set to be a bumper year for business.

As part of Lloyds Banking Group’s national pledge to lend £18billion to UK businesses*, the Group expects to support firms in the North West with up to £1.3billion** of lending during 2019.

As part of the Group’s continued commitment to help British businesses prosper, today’s announcement underlines to existing and new businesses across the North West that the Group is committed to supporting businesses through 2019 and beyond.

The £1.3billion is available to firms across the North West and will support entrepreneurs looking to start-up a new business, micro-businesses seeking to scale up and small businesses considering trading internationally for the first time. It will also support established mid-sized businesses and large, multinational corporations seeking further growth.

Last year, Lloyds Banking Group supported Cheshire-based housing association Halton Housing. It confirmed plans to build 1,000 new homes in the next five years, after securing a £60million funding package.

Lloyds Banking Group Ambassador for the North West, Nick Williams, said: “The North West is one of the top regional contributors to UK PLC and we want to support the businesses delivering this growth. Up to £1.3billion of lending will help the region’s firms to access investment and realise their ambitions.

“Here at Lloyds Banking Group we’re by the side of business and as part of our plan to help Britain prosper we’ll support those that need advice or a capital injection – be it to expand into new international markets, overcome recruitment challenges or improve productivity.”

Throughout 2018, the Group demonstrated its ongoing commitment to supporting British businesses, launching initiatives such as the creation of the £500million growth fund to help firms invest in equipment which improves their productivity, backing the Lloyds Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre with an additional £5million to help train 3,500 manufacturing apprenticeships, and also the swift creation of a £50million fund to support small businesses within the Carillion supply chain.

In addition, the Group reinforced its support to the UK housing sector by launching a £500million fund for housing associations last year, supporting the Government’s pledge to deliver 300,000 houses each year by the middle of the next decade. It also committed £750million in 2018 for social housing projects, contributing to the Group’s commitment to enable more people in Britain to get a home.

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* up to £18billion of gross lending in 2019

** Calculation based on prevailing Lloyds Banking Group lending projections