C.A.S.T. Limited

Several sources of finance are available to Technium companies developing new products and processes.  Your Technium manager can put you in touch with the right person for more information on equity/finance and grants available:

Equity/Finance

Finance Wales
Finance Wales provides commercial funding to SMEs throughout Wales, to help with innovation and growth. They invest in start-up, early-stage, developmental capital and succession deals. They have a flexible yet focused approach to investment, with a growing number of syndicated deals and co-investments. Tel: 0800 587 4140, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Grants

Grants present one of the softest options for company financing, as many do not have to be paid back and are often easier to acquire than loan or equity financing.  Some grants are aimed at encouraging certain activities such as research and development or international trade, while others aim to stimulate job creation.  Grants available in Wales are delivered through the Welsh Assembly Government’s Single Investment Fund as detailed below.

Welsh Assembly Government – Single Investment Fund

The Single Investment Fund (SIF) is part of the range of support offered through the Welsh Assembly Government’s Flexible Support for Business.  SIF provides financial support to help fulfil the ambitions of eligible businesses that need assistance to undertake good quality investment projects in Wales.

Eligibility

The Welsh Assembly can assist all sizes of business with bespoke packages of financial support that meet their needs such as start-up, expansion, modernisation, restructuring or to develop new products, processes or services.  Support is conditional on the business and its investment project meeting the necessary criteria, which include:

• The project must take place in Wales.
• The European Commission restricts support in certain sectors, including fisheries and aquaculture, coal, steel, synethetic fibres, shipbuilding and agricutural primary products.  Well serviced markets such as printing, building contractors etc are also unlikely to be eligible.
• Many service sectors that serve more than the local markets are also eligible (excluding retail and local services such as garages, nurseries etc).
• The potential or existing business must be viable, as must the project proposal.  Support is not available under SIF to finance existing cash flow or financial difficulties.
• Applicants must have a firm idea of how the project will be financed before they apply for support.  Where the need for support is based on financial constraint, the applicant must demonstrate that they have fully explored and exhausted all alternative funding sources and that a genuine funding gap exists.