The British Business Bank has agreed to support a senior facility of up to £100m provided by Paragon Bank to LE Capital.

For the first time, the British Business Bank has provided a pricing incentive on the guarantee, using its ENABLE Guarantee programme, to encourage the funding of electric and hybrid vehicles into the portfolio.

The guarantee has allowed specialist lender Paragon to continue its support to LE Capital by significantly increasing the quantum of financing. The facility will support a portfolio of over £100m of financing to independent, smaller business, used car dealerships to help fund their stock.

The size of the facility will also enable LE Capital to double the number of dealerships it serves across the UK, support larger facilities to independent and franchise dealers and offer more competitive pricing to both existing and new customers.

Paragon structured lending managing director, Jamie Pickering, said: “This is Paragon’s largest structured lending facility to date and showcases our desire to support SME lenders to expand their capacity.

“The ENABLE programme gave us the ability to enhance our support for LE Capital, helping the company to double its funding capability into the used car dealership market and to also accelerate the adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles in the used market.”

Open to UK banks, UK branches of foreign banks, asset and asset-based finance providers, the ENABLE Guarantee programme is designed to encourage additional lending to smaller businesses. Participating institutions are incentivised by a Government-backed guarantee supporting a defined portfolio of debt finance in return for a fee.

LE Capital CEO, George Stancliffe, commented: “This new facility, supported by the British Business Bank, will allow us to double our funding capacity in the UK, offering larger facilities to independent and franchised dealerships, while providing more competitive pricing to our existing and future customers.

“We are excited to continue our journey with Paragon and the support of the British Business Bank’s ENABLE Guarantee programme marks an important step into a new phase of growth.”

Head of structured FI solutions at the British Business Bank, Michael Strevens, added: “We look forward to seeing this finance help independent car dealerships expand and grow, whilst also encouraging their transition to net zero.

“We are also delighted that our guarantees are now proven to support specialty finance providers, such as Paragon, provide significantly larger funding lines. These larger funding lines will provide a consistent and stable foundation to accelerate their smaller business lending clients’ growth.”

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