West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed a £250 million fund aimed at supporting businesses to grow and innovate.

Businesses can now apply for a convertible loan of between £125,000 and £5 million, to support continued growth and innovation in sectors as diverse as technology, life sciences and the creative industries.

The Government has made an initial £250 million available for investment through the Future Fund scheme and will consider increasing this if needed.

Private investors – potentially including venture capital funds, angel investors and those backed by regional funds - will at least match the Government investment in these companies.

Harriett commented: “This is great news for the many small and medium sized businesses based across West Worcestershire who still have plans to grow, despite the current Coronavirus crisis.

“The Government has moved incredibly fast creating a range of schemes to help to protect many millions of job across the country but we are now looking to develop a roadmap to recovery.

“I’ve always tried to support the many creative, innovative smaller local businesses and now the Government is taking its own steps to back up this support with access to growth finance.

“I hope businesses look hard at this scheme to see if it can be a gateway to growth and success this year and beyond.”