The government's 2010 Budget included several measures of relevance to small business owners. Here's the full list.
- A new body, UK Finance for Growth, will oversee the development of the government's £4bn-plus stock of finance schemes for SMEs. It will also oversee the new Growth Capital Fund.
- The Growth Capital Fund will provide finance for SMEs looking for between £2m and £10m in growth capital – addressing the market gap identified by the Rowlands' Review of Growth Capital in November last year. Eventual fund size aims to reach £500m following commitments of £200m from Lloyds, RBS, Clydesdale, Santander and the government.
- To help SMEs who are experiencing difficulty gaining access to credit, the government announced it would create a new Small Business Credit Adjudicator. The Adjudicator will work closely with an expanded Financial Intermediary Service in order to ensure that small businesses are treated fairly when applying for bank finance. The Adjudicator will have statutory powers to ensure that the judgements it makes are enforceable.
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