As part of Lloyds Banking Group’s national pledge to lend up to £18 billion of gross lending to UK businesses in 2020, the Group expects to support firms in the East of England with up to £1.7 billion of lending this year, highlighting its commitment to be by the side of British business whatever the future brings.
The funding is available to firms across the East of England and will support entrepreneurs looking to start 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.
This new lending commitment for 2020 follows on from the Group’s pledge in 2019, also for £18 billion lent nationally and £1.7 billion available to the region’s firms. Despite the continuing challenging economic environment, the Group is not lessening its backing for British businesses and is on hand to support their growth aspirations.
Part of that money saw Lloyds Bank support Suffolk-based sauce maker, Stokes Sauces, last year with a £450,000 finance package. The finance has helped the business – which makes condiments including ketchup, chutney and jam for major brands in more than 50 countries worldwide – to double its capacity and to launch new, recyclable packaging.
David Atkinson, regional director for the East of England, said: “There are many fantastic opportunities for East of England businesses to take advantage of in 2020. Whether it’s investing in more sustainable ways of working, technologies that help to boost productivity, or to expand into new markets – we’ll be by their side whatever happens.
“We anticipate lending to be up to £1.7 billion to firms across the East of England this year, as we back their efforts to grow and thrive.”
During 2019, as well as supporting British businesses’ growth aspirations, the Group assisted its customers in becoming more sustainable. In 2018, the Group launched a £2 billion Clean Growth Financing Initiative (CGFI), which was designed to support clients’ investment in a lower-carbon future by providing the incentive of discounted lending to all types of businesses that invest in reducing their environmental impact. The initiative built on the £1bn funding announced in 2016 to help Global Corporate clients improve the energy efficiency of their Commercial Real Estate, and brought the total green lending commitment to £3bn. The Group is on course to meet its ambitions to support existing and new customers with energy efficiency improvements for a further one million square feet of commercial real estate as well as delivering renewable energy projects capable of powering 3.5 million homes by 2020.
To support customers on their sustainability journey, over 450 relationship managers have undertaken intensive training on climate change and sustainability-related risks and opportunities in collaboration with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership. We are putting sustainability at the heart of our relationship teams’ support for businesses.
António Horta Osório, Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group said: “In 2020, our commitment to supporting businesses is undiminished and we will lend up to £18bn to businesses across the UK. We know that during uncertain times our customers look to us not just for financial support but also for expert guidance to navigate the challenges they may face. Whatever the future brings, we will continue to support UK businesses as part of our commitment to help Britain prosper.”
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