ART Celebrates its First Decade
ART opened its doors for business on 27th June 1997. As it celebrated its 10th anniversary it had lent nearly £6m to a wide variety of businesses in the Birmingham area, enabling more than 320 borrowers to create or protect over 2,800 local jobs for local people.
Speaking at ART’s 10th AGM, Steve Walker, Chief Executive of ART said: “Having been a pioneer of this kind of finance in the UK, our track record now clearly demonstrates the need for finance for enterprise that goes beyond that which is on offer from the mainstream banks. ART and other Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) like it around the country are ideally placed to give business borrowers the support they need to keep the economy buoyant.”
Guests at the 10th AGM included not only existing board members, staff and borrowers, but also past borrowers, founder members and directors, including ART’s first Chairman (now its Honorary President) Sir Adrian Cadbury and his wife Lady Susan. Steve Walker told them that ART had started with a £40,000 grant from a charitable trust and investment from individuals and companies, aiming to lend £200,000 in its first year. “We succeeded and have grown from there,” he added. “We now have over £1m in reserves, shareholders have invested £450,000 (and become eligible for Community Investment Tax Relief) and with current support from Advantage West Midlands (AWM) we are in a position to lend over £1m per annum over the next two years.”
