By David Graham

Published at 15:44, Wednesday, 12 August 2009

SMALL and medium enterprises in the North West are being advised to take advantage of improved access to over £100million in interest-free and unsecured loans from the Carbon Trust by the British Chambers of Commerce.

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This is to help more businesses become more efficient and survive the recession, while aiming to cut both their energy costs and carbon footprints. Thousands of businesses have already benefited, with some slashing their energy bills by as much as 75 per cent.

The government has already funded Carbon Trust loans which have been responsible for installing new energy-saving equipment, and in turn slashing their annual energy bills. With the minimum loan amount being lowered to just £3,000, even smaller businesses will be able to take advantage of the scheme. In most cases, businesses taking out a Carbon Trust loan find that the savings they have been making by replacing or updating their equipment far exceeds the cost of the loan repayments.

Tom Delay, the Carbon Trust chief executive, said: “Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the UK economy.

“We are offering them more than £100m in interest free loans at a time when funding is hard to come by.”

A loan of £3,000 upwards can pay for a new energy efficient boiler, refrigeration, lighting or cooking equipment for businesses such as independent retailers, franchisees and caterers. Medium-sized businesses, such as manufacturing companies could also benefit, with loans up to £400,000. This could cover the cost to replace their facilities with more modern, less power hungry production equipment.

Rob Johnstone, chief executive of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, added: “The Carbon Trust loans scheme offers a practical solution for business survival and we’d encourage businesses across the UK to take advantage of the funding available.”

To find out more information, call 0800 085 2006 or visit carbontrust.co.uk/loans

Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk