Santander scheme targets small businesses

Through its Breakthrough programme, Santander is making up to £200m of growth capital available to fast growth companies looking to invest in and grow their business. The loans are available to businesses with an annual turnover of up to £10m which have a demonstrated history of high year on year growth in turnover, profit or employment.

Steve Pateman, executive director of corporate, commercial and business banking, told the Yorkshire Post: “Lots of small businesses which have debt are forgoing growth because they don’t want to give up equity to finance speculative investment.”

He said Breakthrough’s growth capital loans can be used as an alternative to equity investment, so business owners don’t have to relinquish a large proportion of the business they have built up.

Santander UK is expanding its Yorkshire corporate banking operations. It is currently recruiting several relationship director roles and is looking to expand into Bradford, Doncaster and Wakefield. There are existing corporate business centres in Leeds, Hull and Sheffield.

On Santander UK’s links to Spain, Mr Pateman said exposure to non-UK assets is very low, with only a small part related to Europe, adding that he didn’t believe either Santander UK or Banco Santander, which are subsidiarised and capitalised in their own right, would need recapitalising.