Barclays has revealed a £14.7bn lending fund to support small and medium-sized enterprises to “succeed and flourish” through the uncertainty of Brexit.

The bank, which has also held more than 100 “Brexit clinics” for its business customers in recent weeks, reported that the fund would provide loans, commercial mortgages and cash flow funding for investments.

The response from Barclays comes as Bank of England governor Mark Carney, last month, warned that half of businesses in the UK were not prepared for a no-deal Brexit.

The bank claimed that the fund will allow businesses to handle and “capitalise on” Brexit uncertainty.

Commenting on launch of the fund, Barclays group CEO Jes Staley said: “Barclays stands ready to help local businesses in towns, cities and rural communities, up and down the country, during this period of uncertainty. Today’s £14bn fund, along with our broader package of support, shows our commitment to the local businesses that are the backbone of the UK economy – we are here to help them plan for the future and invest for growth.

“It is the entrepreneurs, the farmers, the manufacturers, the house-builders, the new tech firms, and countless other businesses, that will help the country deal with – and capitalise on – this period of change. Barclays is here to help SMEs to do exactly that.”

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