British Business Bank Makes Increased Commitment to Simply Asset Finance to Unlock More Than £175m of Asset Finance for Smaller UK Businesses

The British Business Bank has announced an increase to its ENABLE Funding commitment to Simply Asset Finance (“Simply”), one of the UK’s largest and fastest growing independent asset finance providers. This increased facility will allow Simply to provide more than £175m of finance to smaller businesses across the UK. In line with the ENABLE Funding programme’s objectives, a portion of the funding provided to Simply has also been refinanced through private securitisations, as part of a wider transaction which will provide around £0.7bn of funding to businesses across the UK. Simply is an independent non-bank lender and equipment finance company, set up in April 2017 in response to the need for innovation and disruption in the asset finance sector. It provides funding to small and medium sized businesses to help them purchase equipment, free up working capital and invest in growth, through its hire purchase, leasing and refinancing products which range from a few thousand pounds to more than £1m. Simply is now one of the fastest-growing asset finance companies in the UK over the past three years[1]. It employs over 160 people and has supported over 9,000 customers since it was founded. Simply has been a participant in the ENABLE Funding programme since December 2017 and has since significantly grown their asset finance portfolio. In total, through five rounds of financing, Simply has provided more than £300m of funding to smaller businesses across the UK via the ENABLE Funding programme. Launched in 2014, the ENABLE Funding programme supports the British Business Bank’s key objective to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK by supporting access to finance for smaller businesses. The ENABLE Funding programme warehouses newly originated finance receivables from participating originators. Once the portfolio has sufficient scale, it aims to refinance a portion of its funding on the capital markets, helping smaller finance providers to tap into institutional investors’ funds. Reinald de Monchy, Co-Chief Banking Officer, Products, British Business Bank, said: “Completing this increased ENABLE Funding commitment to Simply Asset Finance will unlock significant capital for smaller businesses. Importantly, the partial refinancing of Simply’s facility will bring in private sector funding for their existing book and allow us to continue to provide Simply with new funding to support smaller business investment and growth.” Stefan Wolvaardt, Chief Financial Officer, Simply Asset Finance, said: “There remains huge potential in the small and medium-sized business market, so the increased ENABLE Funding commitment will be a vital tool for us to help unlock growth for those firms across the country that need it most. At the core of our business is a commitment to supporting the sustainable growth of businesses across the UK, so we’re incredibly pleased to continue working with the British Business Bank to deliver this vital funding stream."