Finance group ‘rewards’ Yorkshire SMEs with additional £50m funding

Reward Finance Group has helped boost the Yorkshire economy in the last 12 months by providing over 140 SMEs with an additional £50m of funding.

Growing demand for lending across all SME sectors has increased Reward’s turnover, in a year that the company opened a further three regional offices. The company attributes this success to its “straightforward and flexible” lending products, speed of delivery, and the confidence of an increasing number of companies to build their businesses post-pandemic.

Among the SMEs in Yorkshire benefitting from Reward’s support in the last 12 months is Crimple Garden Centre in Harrogate. Reward bolstered shareholders’ funds with a £1.3m working capital injection to help build a £4m 20,000 square foot food hall, incorporating a 160-seat restaurant.

It has enjoyed “huge success” since opening at the end of last year and has created 60 new jobs.

Another business helped by Reward is Bradford property business Kingspark Limited. Last November the company secured £270k to purchase a 13,487 square foot freehold building in Halifax which it is separating into seven small industrial units for start-up businesses.

Gemma Wright, Reward’s managing director for Yorkshire and the North East, said: “As a business based in the region, it is particularly pleasing to fund the ambitions of SMEs across Yorkshire.

“By developing a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses, we know that the funding will deliver both immediate and long term benefits, such as enabling them to seize new opportunities or get them through a period of difficulty, so they can rebuild a successful company.

“£50m, in addition to the money we are already providing to SMEs in the region, is a significant sum to inject into the local economy in just 12 months. The team is immensely proud that we have helped so many companies with their funding needs, often at very short notice.”