The Greater Manchester Loan Fund (GMLF) is celebrating its third anniversary, having invested more than £10 million in 22 local businesses. It is now urging other SMEs in the region to take advantage of the millions of pounds still available to help fund their growth.

Andy Thomas, investment director at Maven Capital Partners (the fund manager for the GMLF) (www.mavencp.com), said: “The GMLF is very much open for business, and we’ve been hugely encouraged by the levels of interest. We’ve seen a wide cross-section of businesses by sector and funding requirement, with applications from relatively mature businesses as well as younger companies operating in expanding markets.

“The GMLF provides flexible loan finance, and we have seen high levels of activity and enquiries in recent months, which we believe may be due to the number of similar options in the market narrowing. However, I’m convinced there are many more innovative and ambitious companies in the region that could benefit from our loan finance.”