Pictured above: Paul Kalinauckas, chief executive, BCRS

Wolverhampton based small business loans company BCRS has been commended in a House of Commons debate. Gavin Williamson, Conservative MP for South Staffordshire, commended that the financial institution be rolled out across the UK. He made the point at a Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) debate on 2nd February, where he urged fellow MPs to "be bold, to free industry from the shackles of Government."

Mr Williamson said; "Opposition Members sometimes seem not to accept the fact that businesses do not always want to be involved in the intricacies of Government. Businesses want the freedom to get on, but they need help with financing. There is a real squeeze for many small and medium-sized businesses in getting the finance that they need. 

"The Black Country Reinvestment Society (BCRS) helps many SMEs in my constituency and much of the Black Country, including new businesses. It uses small amounts of capital to give those businesses the opportunity to grow and expand. I encourage Ministers to look at the model to see how it can be expanded across the country."

Mr Williamson went on to state that 4.3 million people were employed in manufacturing in 1997, but only 2.5 million were employed in 2010. He described this as a "catastrophic decline" and that a revival of all manufacturing was needed across the country. He also welcomed the Government's move to introduce the enterprise allowance, to encourage the unemployed to create new jobs and to "seize the opportunity to create wealth".

Paul Kalinauckas, chief executive of BCRS, said "It is vitally important that that BCRS is now being recognised as a robust financial model for the UK and I'm delighted that our model is being commended in the House. It is crucial that businesses have access to a line of credit to embrace new opportunities and to service orders. BCRS is a new style of business finance based on a co-operative model that makes sense, works and can be replicated across the UK as we upscale."