The Greater Manchester Loan Fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners, has completed its 32^nd deal investing £500,000 in Manchester-based LOFT Interiors a leading supplier in furniture solutions for the broad residential property sector. Funding will be used to support the continued development of LOFT’s operations, product, and team, to facilitate growth opportunities in existing and new markets. With over 80 staff already operating from LOFT’s offices in Manchester and London, the investment is expected to create eight new jobs in the region.

The British Business Bank has announced that it has accredited Lutterworth-based County Finance Group for the Asset Finance variant of the Bank’s EFG programme. This will enable County Finance Group to offer additional asset finance to smaller business looking to acquire equipment or machinery to boost their growth.

ZOPA has raised £44m in the first stage of a new fundraising round, in the latest sign that the peer-to-peer lender is preparing to go public.

Funds managed by Foresight Group LLP have provided an additional £10 million extension to bolster the original £40 million secured loan note facility which was agreed in September 2017 for Reward Finance Finance Group Limited.

Esme Loans, the digital lending platform for SMEs and scale up businesses, today announced that it has entered into a partnership with Pollen Street Capital, a London-based private equity and credit manager, further enhancing Esme’s ability to serve UK SMEs.

The Financial Conduct Authority has  published the next stage of the post-implementation review of peer-to-peer lending regulation.

Tamworth-headquartered logistics firm OnLogistics is set to expand a number of its divisions, after receiving £350k from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).

PEER-TO-PEER lenders must extend their reach to businesses beyond London as the UK’s regions continue to be underserved by finance, according to the UK’s first small business commissioner.

City of London Group, the parent company of a group focused on providing finance to the SME sector and home reversion plans in the UK residential property market, and CODE Investing, the institutional marketplace for SME debt, have announced a strategic collaboration to support the growth of UK small businesses. COLG will aim to complete £50 million in UK small business loans over the next four years originated through CODE Investing.

Wistia, a video software provider for small and medium-sized businesses, has raised $17.3m in debt to pay back its angel investors, allowing it to remain true to its founders’ principles of being creatively-driven, long-lasting and independent.  “The decision was one of the most important in Wistia's history,” said Chris Savage (pictured), Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Wistia. “Our goal was to realign everyone involved in Wistia on the same vision.”

Economy Secretary Ken Skates has launched a new research unit tasked with addressing the gap in Welsh SME finance data.

Economic Intelligence Wales, a new collaboration between the Development Bank of Wales, Cardiff Business School and the Office for National Statistics, was formally launched by the Economy Secretary at an event held at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant at the end of last month.

Maven Capital Partners has completed a £2 million investment in Lending Works, a leading UK peer-to-peer lender. The total transaction value also includes £800,000 of funding from NVM Private Equity, Pollen Street Capital, and a small number of business angels. The investment will be used to strengthen Lending Works’ sales and marketing function to support the continued expansion of the business, capitalising on the significant growth forecasted in the P2P market, and enabling it to originate and convert more loans through its established sales channels, such as brokers and price comparison sites.