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As we reflect upon the past 12 months, I feel immensely proud of what The FSE Group has helped businesses to achieve. For many, it has been a time to get growth plans back on track following the inevitable impact of the pandemic and it has been exciting to be here providing the funding and support needed. Naturally, we are also aware of the current tougher trading conditions and other funders pulling back, which is why we always understand the market gap – a gap that has widened in the last few months - and we ensure the Funds we manage are there to fill it.   

The business funding we have provided across the regions has played a vital role in stimulating SME growth and we take considerable pride in the fact that the businesses we support have a higher probability of success, i.e. achieving their growth plans.  

This is because our approach is holistic and looks to provide support that is more than money. Our dedicated Investment Managers take pride in knowing the businesses they fund – knowing their product or service and recognising the potential it holds, knowing the management team and how it ticks, knowing their goals and aspirations, knowing their funding needs.  

Across the regions we have invested in 116 businesses this year. With loans and equity investments ranging between £50,000 and £2million, we have supported from the small to the medium of SMEs at different stages of their growth journeys, operating in a variety of sectors.  As an example, our team in Cornwall have been working hard to deploy the remaining CIOSIF funds before the investment period closes at the end of next year; with over £8million invested in 2022, they have supported a number of businesses operating in the marine sector and many with a core focus on sustainability, reflecting the ethos and personality of the Cornish ecosystem. 

Throughout the year our teams have also provided links to expertise, best practice sharing and talks from experts on topics that growing businesses are interested in and will help them on their growth journey. We have provided opportunities for our founders to come together and learn from each other.  

Generating economic impact (including job creation), by providing funding for growth remains at the heart of what we do and we are proud of how we do it. Proud to be a Community Interest Company. Proud to invest where others don’t. Proud to add value. Proud to leverage greater impact. Proud to be different. 

There are different business finance options available for businesses looking to grow. The FSE Group provides accessible market-gap funding to high growth businesses.

Business Loans:

A business loan is a popular option for businesses. Lenders work with businesses to find a suitable loan amount and repayment plan that meets their needs.

Business loans can be used for a variety of purposes, including purchasing inventory, hiring staff, or expanding the business. They can be offered with fixed or variable interest rates and repayment terms ranging from a few months to several years.

To qualify for a business loan, businesses must have a strong business plan, and a clear understanding of how they will use the funds.

The British Business Bank have more information about business loans on their Finance Hub.

Equity Investment:

Equity investment is another option available to businesses. This type of finance involves selling shares in the business to investors in exchange for funding. Equity investment can be a good option for businesses that are looking to grow quickly and need significant amounts of capital.

One of the advantages of equity investment is that businesses do not have to repay the funds they receive. Instead, investors become shareholders in the business. This can be a good option for businesses that are confident in their ability to grow and generate profits over the long term.

However, equity finance also involves giving up some control of the business to investors. This can be a concern for businesses that want to maintain full control of their operations.

The British Business Bank Finance Hub has more information about equity investments.

Business funding from The FSE Group:

The FSE Group has been providing high-growth SMEs with accessible market-gap funding since 2002. We work with stakeholders and partners, including British Business Bank, Finance Yorkshire, Funding London and Local Enterprise Partnerships, to deliver funding that supports job creation and economic prosperity. FSE is committed to supporting in the long-term, sustainable businesses that will grow, provide employment, and generate economic benefit in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.

For more information visit: www.thefsegroup.com or to enquire directly fill out our enquiry form.

• The Fund has made 856 investments into Midlands’ businesses since 2017
• Additional £301m of private sector investment unlocked by the fund
• Funding supports innovative sustainable companies and improves access to finance in region

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) has now invested over £200m into Midlands businesses since its launch in 2017.

The debt and equity funding options offered by the MEIF have benefitted 595 businesses across the region and has supported SMEs in the creation of jobs, investment into new products and services and wider growth opportunities.

The Fund was launched by the British Business Bank in partnership with Local Enterprise Partnerships, the Midlands Engine and the UK Government with the aim of improving access to finance and the landscape for small businesses in the Midlands.

MEIF funding breakdown:

• Over £200m invested, with £301m of private sector co-investment unlocked
• 856 investments in 595 businesses
• 2,371 jobs created

Businesses in various sectors benefit from MEIF funding, including its ongoing investment in the region's sustainable development and green technology.  

A recent sustainability investment into renewable energy provided debt funding to Nottingham-based Roadgas, to support the company's growth in supplying further renewable gas refuelling stations across the UK.

Birmingham-headquartered I-Phyc received £2.3m to support expansion of its nature-based wastewater treatment solutions through the MEIF's Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund to create new jobs.

Ken Cooper, Managing Director at the British Business Bank, said: “Our partnership with key regional stakeholders including Local Enterprise Partnerships and our fund managers has played a significant role in reaching this new milestone. Investment by MEIF has been shown to promote resilience, innovation and productivity in supported SMEs and has helped diversify and strengthen the regions finance landscape.  We look forward to continuing this through the next £100m of investment. "

Jon Corbett, Chair of Strategic Oversight Board for the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, added:  “The Midlands Engine Investment Fund provides financing options to smaller businesses with potential in the Midlands. The funding allows businesses to achieve their goals and give entrepreneurs the opportunity to realise their growth ambitions.

“MEIF funding has helped many SMEs contribute to the wider economic growth of the Midlands and its wider economic goals through investment to support safeguarding existing jobs, creating new roles, overcoming challenges faced during the pandemic, and helping the region's businesses to reach their full potential. 

“While we’re celebrating another milestone, we hope to help many more businesses and entrepreneurs who have innovative and sustainable ideas in the future by breaking down the barriers of access to traditional finance and will allow the Midlands region to continue to prosper.”  

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

A Worcestershire business has secured a £250,000 investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), provided by The FSE Group managed by MEIF Debt Finance Fund and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme.

Little Mixers create high-quality fruit purees and syrups for use in cocktails, smoothies and desserts. The MEIF funding will be used to purchase and install a range of machinery at a new production facility in Worcestershire, making Little Mixers the first UK manufacturer of fruit purees specifically for the drinks industry.

Co-founders Shaun Elder and Simon Little formerly worked in the sector as agents for another manufacturer’s product, but with the creation of Little Mixers, they are now producing their own branded purees.

Little Mixers are managing the supply chain through direct relationships with fruit growers and bringing all manufacturing in-house with the aim of becoming the market leader for fruit purees that are allergen free, gluten free, kosher, halal and suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

Simon Little, co-founder of Little Mixer, said: “With the hospitality industry impacted so heavily by the pandemic, we re-evaluated our business model, identifying an opportunity to develop a premium, UK manufactured product for this category. As such, despite our extensive experience and commercial success in the sector, we are effectively starting a new business, meaning traditional lines of funding are not available to us.

“We are thankful to MEIF and FSE for looking at the strengths of our business proposition and being prepared to back our potential, enabling us to bring innovative processing techniques and new-to-market products to the UK.”

Since 2014, the number of outlets serving cocktails has risen by 75% with cocktails now accounting for 10% of total venue drinks sales. Little Mixers will supply its high-quality, commercially competitive and uniquely UK manufactured purees to premium hospitality venues that are looking for the finest ingredients.

Harriet Saunders, Fund Executive at The FSE Group, added: “Shaun and Simon have a deep understanding of the UK drinks sector with a strong network of industry connections. This, along with their technical expertise, data driven forecasting of the market and intellectual property ownership, sets them up well for the successful delivery of their business plan.

“We are delighted to be supporting them and look forward to helping them achieve their ambitions for growth.”Little Mixers has secured a £250,000 investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), provided by The FSE Group managed by MEIF Debt Finance Fund and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme.

Little Mixers has secured a £250k investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, provided by The FSE Group managed by MEIF Debt Finance Fund and backed by the RLS.

Mark Wilcockson, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF is committed to supporting businesses like Little Mixers in its growth plans in the Midlands. MEIF funding options are available to other businesses with growth plans in the region that are looking to scale-up and we’d encourage these businesses to consider the options.”

Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “It’s great to see yet another Worcestershire business being supported to grow through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund. I am so pleased to see this support enabling Little Mixers to invest in their new production facility in Worcestershire, allowing them to bring their new innovative ideas to market. This has been down to the support of the Worcestershire growth hub and the partners supporting this business.”

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

The FSE Group, MEIF Debt Finance Fund provides loans between £100,000 and £1.5million to help growing SMEs across the region.

Codices, the UK’s leading interactive gameshow creator are launching the first platform to allow anyone to create live interactive gameshows.

With the UK being the leading producer of un-scripted TV formats, accounting for 42% of worldwide export sales in 2020, it has proven to be a reliable source of some of the world’s best entertainment.

A new start-up is helping the UK become the leader of next generation entertainment – live mass participation gameshows where everyone watching is a contestant. The trend started initially with the app HQ Trivia in 2017 which validated there was mass market appeal for interactive shows.

“The reason we haven’t seen any mainstream live interactive gameshows since HQ Trivia is because they are hard to create and there isn’t really a platform setup for people to easily access them” says co-founder and CEO Tim Edwards.

Codices Interactive started their gameshow journey on the livestreaming platform Twitch where they launched their gameshow extension Quiz Kit, which amassed over 4 million monthly viewers and has been used by over a million different live-streamers to create live online quiz shows.

They have worked with the likes of Amazon Prime Video, The Premier League and a number of large game development studios to create new gameshow formats on Twitch. They also ran the largest ever mass quiz show with studio Digital Extremes boasting over 350,000 concurrent participants whilst giving away over 100,000 prizes.

“The one thing everyone wants to do when watching a gameshow is play along. We found by making them live and interactive it increased the enjoyment factor significantly.” Last year, after raising around £1m in investment, they set out to build a brand-new gameshow platform, Moar, to facilitate the creation and supply of mass participation shows. ‘Twitch is the best platform to watch video games content, but we found the market for live interactive shows was much broader than gamers.’

Moar provides tools to creators to build their own live gameshow formats - starting out with the ability to make quiz shows, live polls, give out prizes and bring on live guests through their phone.

Another key aspect of the platform is making sure anyone with an internet connection can make their own interactive gameshows. “Today, anyone can be a content creator and we didn’t want to restrict the tools to businesses or professionals by making them too complicated to use.”

Through watching shows on Moar viewers can also earn ‘stubs’, similar to winning tickets on an arcade machine, which can be spent on in app rewards and a number of real-life prizes soon to be announced.

“Right now we are in our Open Beta phase so it’s a great time to install and take advantage of our early offers and take a front row seat in seeing the platform develop” says Tim. If you would like to experience Moar, either creating or watching some of their shows, you can find them on the iOS App Store by searching Moar where they are running daily trivia shows alongside shows run by new creators.