Maven – Fund Manager for the Scottish Loan Fund
In February 2011 Maven was selected by the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) to manage the Scottish Loan Fund (SLF) after a competitive public procurement process. The SIB (a division of Scottish Enterprise) has established this fund in response to a clear demand for finance, particularly among the growth and exporting businesses that should contribute most to Scotland’s economic growth and prosperity. Many viable and dynamic firms, with strong business plans, innovate products and highly capable management teams, are struggling to access the funding that will allow them to develop their businesses.
SLF aims to address this market requirement for SME finance, with £55 million of public sector funding allocated to cornerstone the fund from the Scottish Government (SG), Scottish Enterprise (SE), Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). In March 2011 a further £40 million was pledged by private investors, including Clydesdale Bank, Lloyds, RBS and Santander, taking the total fund value to more than £94 million.
The SLF will provide mezzanine loans of between £250,000 and £5 million into qualifying SMEs, though the majority of loans will be for less than £2 million. The mezzanine loans will typically be structured over a period of between three and seven years and will provide higher financial reward in return for greater risk-taking on the part of the fund, through a small equity component or redemption premium with interest rates typically greater than senior debt.
There is no sector bias for investment by the SLF, although there are a limited number of sectoral activities where ERDF rules prevent the Fund from lending. Details of those restrictions can be obtained from the Maven team.
There are key investment criteria for the SLF, such that a qualifying business must:
- Be an SME with an established operating base in Scotland;
- Have an incentivised management team with a proven track record;
- Demonstrate sustainable operating profits and positive cash generation;
- Have an annual turnover of at least £1 million;
- Ideally operate in an export market with a strong defensible position; and
- Generate strong margins with a scalable business model.
Maven’s team is one of the best resourced and most experienced in Scotland, with existing offices in Glasgow and Aberdeen, and a new office in Edinburgh. Maven will offer a pro-active and partnership approach to viable SMEs which can demonstrate that the SLF investment will be used to develop and grow their businesses to the benefit of the Scottish economy.
Further Information
All applicants must meet the EU definition of an SME, which means having fewer than 250 employees, and either an annual turnover of no more than Euros 50m or an annual balance sheet that is below Euros 43 million in total.
To find out more about the Fund please click here to download the full brochure 
Alternatively if you are looking to apply for funding please click here to download the enquiry form.
About Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is Scotland's main economic development agency and aims to deliver a significant, lasting effect on the Scottish economy. It supports ambitious Scottish companies to compete within the global marketplace and helps build Scotland’s globally competitive sectors. It also works with a range of partners in the public and private sectors to attract new investment to Scotland and to help create a world-class business environment.
About the Scottish Investment Bank
The Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) is a division of Scottish Enterprise which operates Scotland-wide, in partnership with SE and HIE business development activity. It is designed to support the development of Scotland’s private sector SME funding market to ensure that both early stage and established businesses with growth and export potential have adequate access to growth capital. The SIB operates a suite of investment funds including the Scottish Seed Fund, the Scottish Co-investment Fund, and the Scottish Venture Fund.
More details on Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Investment Bank can be found at: www.scottish-enterprise.com/sib
If you would like to speak to the Maven SLF team, please contact slfenquiries@mavencp.com or one of the Maven executives shown below.
Aberdeen – Jock Gardiner / Ewan MacKinnon / Kieran Good – 01224 446080
Glasgow - Andrew Craig / Gemma Hamilton / Julie Glenny / Richard Elliott – 0141 306 7400
Edinburgh – David Milroy - 0131 306 2201