The funding will boost the specialist marketplace lender’s lending capacity and enable it to continue its growth.

Folk2Folk specialises in providing finance to smaller businesses within regional UK, helping those who are looking to grow, develop or diversify in the post-pandemic and post-Brexit environment. 

The company has delivered £488m of investment to regional smaller businesses since 2013.

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Judith Hartley, CEO at British Business Investments, said: “We are delighted to announce our £7m commitment to Folk2Folk. 

“In its recently published ‘Regions and Nations Tracker’ report, the British Business Bank highlighted the funding issues for regional and rural smaller businesses. 

“This commitment to Folk2Folk will help these types of businesses throughout the UK to access the finance they need to grow and prosper.”

Louis Mathers, co-founder and director at Folk2Folk (pictured above, right), commented: “By focusing on rural and regional businesses, Folk2Folk serves an extremely viable but underserved part of the SME landscape. 

“We founded Folk2Folk on the belief that something needed to be done about this regional disparity in funding. 

“We felt a greater connectedness was needed between investors and regional Britain, and Folk2Folk was founded in early 2013 to be a mechanism to enable this. 

“Together with our investors, we are helping to level the playing field for regional businesses.”

Roy Warren, managing director at Folk2Folk (left), added: “We are rapidly approaching half a billion in lending and the addition of British Business Investments as an institutional investor alongside our existing investor base, expands our funding lines and bolsters our position on the financial frontline of support for regional SMEs. 

“Folk2Folk takes a human approach to lending and reviews every case on its own merits. 

“By taking a holistic approach, we’re able to see the bigger picture, and will also consider projection-led proposals.”