PROFESSOR DYLAN JONES-EVANS

Four years ago, I published a report on access to finance for SMEs, commissioned for the Welsh Government, which recommended that Finance Wales should be incorporated into a new one-stop-shop operation called “the Development Bank of Wales”. The report had concluded that Finance Wales was not fit for purpose because there was confusion over its actual remit i.e. was it aiming to be the best investment fund in the UK as its vision stated or should it be focusing on its economic development role? The Minister for the Economy backed the latter view and in 2014, I was asked to chair a task and finish group to examine how this Development Bank could be established to better support Welsh businesses. After considerable work by a group of fantastic individuals, the final recommendations were accepted by the Minister in 2015 and a member of that group was tasked with developing a business case to examine whether Finance Wales could take these on board and evolve into a new Developmen...

The first part of the Access to Finance review noted the role of Finance Wales, which is wholly owned by the Welsh Government, in providing finance to Welsh SMEs since its creation in 2001. It is currently managing over £200m worth of investments in Wales over four live funds, namely: The £150 million Wales JEREMIE Fund that aims to encourage effective investment in small and medium-sized businesses. The Fund is backed by the European Regional Development Fund, the Welsh Government and the European Investment Bank;  The £40 million Wales SME Investment Fund which is backed by the Welsh Government and Barclays and invests in micro, small and medium-sized firms; The £6 million Welsh Government-backed Wales Micro-business Loan Fund; The £10 million Wales Property Development Fund, which makes loans to small and medium-sized Welsh construction companies developing small-scale, non-speculative commercial and residential property.  In addition, Finance Wales also manages th...