BUSINESSES in Stratford had the highest amount of loans in Coventry and Warwickshire through government’s pandemic loan schemes.
According to the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) loans worth more than £670 million have been given to firms in Coventry and Warwickshire, with Stratford businesses bagging £107million for nearly 2,600 companies.
The some 17,500 loans were a result of the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme
The second highest was 2,140 loans offered to firms in the Coventry South constituency amounting to some £91million and 2,075 loans being offered in Warwick and Leamington totalling around £88million.
CWLEP Hub Growth MD Craig Humphrey said: “The high number of businesses asking for support from the south of our area indicates the need of the culture, tourism, hospitality and leisure sector in Stratford-on-Avon which has been devastated in recent months.
“Providing this level of financial support throughout Coventry and Warwickshire has enabled businesses to carry on trading, look at alternative revenue streams such as switching to online sales and needing to improve their digital infrastructure, or use it for working capital.
“Being able to access finance quickly has been needed by SMEs [small and medium business enterprises] who often don’t have huge cash reserves and had to react to the rapidly-changing financial situation they found themselves in, often by having to close their premises.”
Mr Humphrey also praised local authorities he said ‘swung into action quickly to get the money where it was needed’.
Stratford District Council leader Tony Jefferson added: “The level of support provided to Stratford-on-Avon District has been fantastic. They have enabled many businesses to survive a very challenging time. Without them the situation on unemployment would have been much more fraught. The next few months will remain challenging though.”
