A not-for-profit company that provides loans to Cumbrian businesses rejected by the banks has notched up almost £10m of lending.

Enterprise Answers, the county’s only community development finance institution, reported strong growth in 2015-16.

The year also saw it receive confirmation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that its application for full permission had been approved.

The organisation, based in Penrith, has assisted 400 businesses and helped to create or safeguard more than 1,000 jobs since its launch in 2005.

Chief Executive Grahame Latus said: “This has been an excellent year and builds on the foundations we have laid.

“Our authorisation by the FCA is testament that the products and service we offer meet the requirements of the regulator and the market.

“Our accounts continue to demonstrate our professional approach to assisting businesses, which has resulted in a strong loan portfolio with very low levels of provisioning.”

Enterprise Answers is Cumbria’s only not-for-profit enterprise lender. It offers loans from £5,000 to £100,000 repaid over periods up to 10 years. The interest rate varies between 10 and 14 per cent.

All loans are subject to an arrangement fee of two per cent, minimum £250. Security and monitoring fees may be payable.

To be eligible, businesses must must have sought funding from a bank and been turned down.

Those to have benefited include the Penrith restaurant Four and Twenty, gift retailer Ashbridge & Brown in Carlisle, Cafe Merinda in Keswick, Xtreme Fitness at Lillyhall, Workington, and the Brewery House at Harrington.

Mr Latus anticipates increasing demand for its loans. He added: “Businesses will find the coming months, if not the next year or two, to be challenging in shaping their business strategy to respond to the impact of Brexit.

“Yet we will endeavour to assist those businesses where possible that may experience difficulty in accessing the finance they need from conventional sources to develop, expand and grow.”

More information on the loans online – at www.enterpriseanswers.co.uk – or call 01768 867118.