A legal director in the Bristol office of national law firm Foot Anstey has helped regional business finance provider FSE Group close two investment funds that will form part of the recently launched South West Investment Fund (SWIF).
Karl Bradford, pictured below, with support from colleagues in Foot Anstey’s funds team. advised on the closing of the £46m SWIF – Equity Area A LP fund, and the £23m SWIF – Debt Area A LP fund. 
They form part of the new £200m South West Investment Fund (SWIF), which covers the entire South West region and provides loans from £25,000 to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium-sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.
It is the first in a series of six new funds being launched by the British Business Bank, the government-owned business development bank.
The FSE Group, which has a regional office in Truro, Cornwall, was one of four fund managers appointed by the bank to manage the SWIF. FSE Group will manage both debt and equity for the South of the region.
Karl Bradford said: “The FSE Group has a fantastic track record of managing and deploying funds to support the growth of small and medium sized businesses.
“Being FSE’s chosen legal partner in helping it close the two funds was an honour. We are proud to say that we assisted FSE with its appointment under the SWIF to unlock vital investment for businesses across the South West.”
FSE Group chief financial officer Dale Huxford added: “Foot Anstey’s legal advice was crucial in enabling us to close the equity and debt funds.
“We’d like to thank Karl and the Foot Anstey team for their support and guidance throughout the process and look forward to working with them again in the future.”
SWIF aims to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the South West.
It will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for South West smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.
Foot Anstey, which also has offices in Exeter, London, Plymouth, Southampton, Taunton and Truro, advises clients in sectors spanning development, energy and infrastructure to Islamic finance and retail and consumer.
