Community lender BCRS Business Loans is celebrating lending £13m through the Community Investment Enterprise Fund (CIEF) to support more than 150 businesses across the West Midlands and Wales.

Having recently completed the distribution of its allocated funds, BCRS Business Loans has generated more than £67m in economic impact in total, with over £10m going to support SMEs.

Since March 2024, BCRS Business Loans has been working with small businesses to provide secure CIEF loans between £25,000 and £250,000 to enable their growth and recovery plans.

In total, the funding from BCRS Business Loans has generated £67m in economic impact, with £57m benefitting the West Midlands and £10m for Wales.

In the West Midlands region, 131 businesses received funding totalling £11.1m, creating 330 new jobs and safeguarding 1206 more roles. From the £1.9m of lending provided to 23 Welsh businesses, 117 jobs were created and a further 264 were safeguarded.

Among the 154 businesses supported in total, 25 per cent of lending went to support female-led businesses, whilst 28 per cent supported ethnic minority-led businesses.

Funded by Lloyds, along with social impact investor Better Society Capital (BSC) with contributions from the three participating community development finance institutions (CDFIs), BCRS Business Loans, Business Enterprise Fund and Finance for Enterprise, the £62m CIEF provided support to SME’s unable to access the finance they need from traditional sources. CIEF is managed by Social Investment Scotland (SIS), which has been investing in the social sector since 2001 and is itself a CDFI.

BCRS Business Loans chief executive Stephen Deakin said:

“We are delighted that, in a relatively short period of time, this fund has positively impacted so many businesses across the West Midlands and Wales.

“The team at BCRS Business Loans is proud to have played their part in the growth journey of so many businesses, and hope that this funding has helped unlock their potential to enable continued growth.”

One recent West Midlands business to benefit from BCRS Business Loans funds accessed under the CIEF was Birmingham-based barbecue seasoning and sauce company Lumberjaxe, which secured £100,000 to support the delivery of a major contract with supermarket giant Aldi.

The funding enabled brothers Brendon and Jaydon Manders, who gained national recognition when they appeared on BBC One’s Dragons’ Den in February 2025, to supply 80,000 units of their sauces to 1,050 Aldi stores.

Lumberjaxe has grown rapidly since the brothers founded the business with just £100 each in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, first operating from their mother’s council house kitchen in Quinton, Birmingham. The company makes seasonings and sauces with no preservatives.

When they featured on Dragons’ Den the brothers secured a £90,000 investment from guest Dragon Emma Grede in exchange for 20 per cent equity. Since the appearance, the brand has gone viral on social media, helping to drive demand for their products.

Jaydon Manders, co-founder and director of Lumberjaxe, said:

“BCRS Business Loans gave us the opportunity we needed to take our business to the next level. The funding they provided us with allowed us to fulfil our first major supermarket contract with Aldi. BCRS took the time to listen to our plans for the future, believed in our vision and we are grateful for their support.”

Chris Jamieson, Head of Investment Partnerships at Social Investment Scotland, said:

"CIEF has shown what's possible when funders and CDFIs pool resources behind businesses that mainstream lenders overlook. Congratulations to BCRS on reaching so many businesses across the West Midlands and Wales. As fund manager, we've seen first-hand how that capital translates into real growth, from Lumberjaxe scaling into supermarket shelves to the many other small businesses BCRS has backed along the way.”

Victoria Crisp, Investment Director at Better Society Capital said:

"It's fantastic to see BCRS continuing to thrive, using its platform to channel capital into vital UK businesses that are too often overlooked by mainstream finance. This work opens up genuine pathways to economic opportunity in communities across the UK, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with BCRS and the wider CDFI sector.” 

Since BCRS Business Loans was founded as a community development financial institution in 2002, it has provided loans worth more than £100 million to businesses across the West Midlands and Wales. A social impact report for the last financial year showed BCRS lent £10.2m to 112 businesses, safeguarding 895 jobs and creating 260 roles, adding £53m in value to the economy of the West Midlands, surrounding regions and Wales.

To find out more and apply for funding, visit: www.bcrs.org.uk