FW Capital opens new Bristol office

FW Capital, one of the UK’s largest regional fund managers, has opened a new office in Bristol to provide finance to SME businesses in the South West through the British Business Bank’s new £200 million South West Investment Fund (SWIF). David Goodall joins FW Capital to head up the new office and has been appointed as Fund Manager.

FW Capital will manage the SWIF debt finance fund for the north of the region, providing commercial loans of £100,000 to £2 million to businesses in Bristol, Gloucestershire, North and North East Somerset and Wiltshire. SWIF was recently launched by the British Business Bank and is aimed at fostering growth and prosperity for SME businesses across the South West.

FW Capital has a strong track record of providing flexible finance to dynamic businesses in the North of England across various funds. Most notably, they have delivered over £155m of funds to growing businesses from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

The team will be located at Broad Quay, Bristol and will be led by Fund Manager David Goodall. David is a former banker who has over 38 years’ experience working for NatWest and Barclays on the business, commercial and corporate banking side. David has worked across a variety of roles in his banking career including relationship management, credit, debt structuring, and business development, with his last role being Head of Mid-Corporate Banking for Barclays across the South West.

FW Capital’s South West team will be looking to use the fund to increase the supply and diversity of finance for ambitious businesses for various purposes, such as expansion, product or service innovation, new processes, skills, capital equipment and the transition to net zero.

Gary Guest, FW Capital Fund Director said: “The South West is home to some of the UK’s most ambitious and innovative businesses.  We’re looking forward to supporting local entrepreneurs and playing a key role in the region’s future success story through the provision of funding from SWIF. The FW Capital team is focused on making finance accessible to growing businesses and we’re excited to bring our expertise to help South West businesses thrive.”

David Goodall, FW Capital Fund Manager added: “I am delighted to have joined FW Capital. It’s great to have the opportunity to establish the office in Bristol. We also have desk space across the region to make sure we have a real presence and visibility across the communities.  SWIF has a real purpose. That is to support good businesses that may not be able to obtain finance through usual channels. The aim is to stimulate growth across the region and to help businesses realise their potential. To be able to support this ambition in the area that I have lived and worked in for my whole life is a real privilege.”

SWIF covers the entire South West region and provides loans from £25k 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. Four separate fund managers have been appointed to manage the fund across the region. Find out more on the SWIF website.

The purpose of SWIF is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the South West. SWIF 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.