A MAJOR bank has ring-fenced £350million for South Hampshire and Dorset as it launched a £15billion lending fund for small and medium-sized enterprises.

HSBC UK says its customers are thinking about investment, acquisitions and capital spending despite concerns about the economy in general.

Sustainability and digitisation were highlighted by customers as the biggest areas of opportunity, cited by 12 per cent and 11 per cent respectively in a YouGov survey.

HSBC says the fund is a key part of a commitment to help businesses innovate and grow at home and internationally.

Small business minister Paul Scully said: “This new fund puts HSBC on course to have lent more than £100bn to UK small businesses within a decade, which is a great milestone for HSBC and even better for the communities across the country being helped to thrive.

“This extra funding builds on the support available through government schemes like Help to Grow and Start Up Loans to help small businesses grow and reach their full potential.”

This year’s fund includes £2bn ring-fenced for businesses trading internationally, £500m for the tech sector and £500m for franchise businesses.

It is also aligned with a Green SME Fund for businesses of all sizes to transition and thrive in a low-carbon economy and the new Growth Lending Fund of £250m for high-growth tech businesses, supporting well-equitised, high-growth but loss-making scale-ups early in their journey.

Earlier this year, the HSBC UK SME fund enabled Wyatt Homes to work in partnership with Homes England to provide 1,000 new homes in Hampshire and Dorset, with the support of a multi-million pound funding package. Around 30 per cent of the new builds are designated as affordable.

Small business commissioner Liz Barclay said: “The challenges facing small businesses are beyond imagination. The problems caused by poor payment practices such as late or delayed payments, and extended payment terms, pile pressure on cash flow.

"Small firms are the lifeblood of the economy, and they must be paid fast and fair, and if they are to have the confidence to invest and build the resilience they’ll need to weather the storms ahead, they will need the support of funds like this more than ever."

Peter McIntyre, head of business banking at HSBC UK, said: “SMEs are vital to the UK economy, and our customers have told us they are ready to invest for growth.

"The £15bn fund will help businesses to expand internationally, as well as here in the UK, supporting key sectors and driving investment across the regions.

“We want to make a significant contribution to economies across the country, driving employment, local wealth and growth by providing funding, when and where it’s needed most. We know our customers are innovating and adapting at pace and British businesses need their bank to be flexible, supporting future growth opportunities.”