The British Business Bank has agreed a second portfolio increase of £100m to specialist commercial lender DF Capital’s existing ENABLE Guarantee facility.

This transaction builds on the £250m which was agreed through the first facility increase announced in August 2023. The total facility now stands at £350m, doubling the initial commitment of £175m agreed in January 2023.

The guarantee has helped DF Capital unlock additional levels of growth that it says would have been difficult to achieve otherwise and the size of the guarantee will allow DF Capital to continue to grow its own book organically in the future.

DF Capital was the first lender to utilise the ENABLE Guarantee programme to support inventory finance. This specialist form of lending is central to supply chains, supports the availability of working capital and improves cashflow across product distribution cycles.

As of May 2024, DF Capital have used the ENABLE Guarantee to support over £794m of finance to dealer businesses, with almost 97% of this being outside London.

DF Capital received its banking licence in September 2020. One of the objectives of the British Business Bank is to increase the diversity of supply and type of finance available to smaller businesses.

Michael Strevens, head of structured guarantees, British Business Bank, said: “This second facility increase of DF Capital’s ENABLE Guarantee is testament to our commitment to the role specialist banks play in financing smaller businesses. DF Capital’s continued expansion demonstrates both the power of the guarantee to grow lenders in the small business space, as well as it being an attractive alternative to raising equity capital.”

Carl D’Ammassa, chief executive of DF Capital, added: “British Business Bank’s continued support by upsizing the ENABLE Guarantee helps unlock our near-term growth ambitions and our aim to assist more SME dealers and manufacturers as we look to further scale the bank and become a multi-product lender.”