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We're a development bank that puts Wales's potential at the heart of our decision-making. 

We fund businesses that we think will benefit Wales and its people. The ones that will create ripples of growth. The ones that are more than a good business model or a great idea. We finance responsible businesses - those with a strong social, ethical and environmental standards, as well as real commercial promise. 

By providing sustainable, effective finance where options have seemed limited, we're bringing ambitions to life and fuelling possibilities for people, businesses and communities in Wales and beyond.

 

A unique resource for Wales

We can provide equity funding for early stage tech startups, ambitious businesses looking to grow and support for management buy-outs. Our equity funds can invest from £50k to £10m and customers benefit from ongoing support including access to our network of investors, non-executive directors and specialist consultancy.

Our flexible business loans can support the full business lifecycle from start-ups and growing businesses, to succession transactions including employee buy-outs. We also offer specialist funds for tourism businesses and certain town centres, which can be combined with Welsh Government grants. Our loans range from £1k to £10m over terms of up to 15 years.

Through our property development loans, we can support residential, mixed use and commercial developments with funding from £150k to £6m. Customers benefit from a dedicated team with specialist sector knowledge and discounted lending for green homes.

Our research arm, Economic Intelligence Wales, collates and analyses economic data, creating valuable insight into the Welsh economy. Regular reports track supply and demand for finance, identifying market gaps to inform policy.

Investment principles

Our delivery of business finance is directed by six core investment principles. We focus on encouraging businesses and co-investors to take action that will have a positive effect on the economic development of Wales. Our activity must minimise displacement and ensure an economic return - both socially and financially.

We operate where there's market failure, supporting economic opportunity by making finance available to viable businesses and responding to evolving market and customer needs.

We invest on commercial terms, pricing the investment fairly to reflect the risk. This ensures we are not displacing the private sector. It also means we generate returns that can be recycled into new customers, creating a long-term, value for money asset for Wales.

We invest for positive financial and non–financial impact in the regional communities we serve. Environmental, social and governance are considerations proportionately embedded in our investment decision–making.

We're a responsible investor, delivering expert, independent investment management services. Our experienced team adds value to the businesses we work with, for the life of the relationship.

We're a patient investor, providing accessible funding to support the long-term sustainability of the businesses we fund.

We work in close collaboration with the private and public sector and crowd–in private sector co–investment wherever possible to increase the flow of funds in Wales.

Find out more

  1. Deliver debt and equity funding with a social impact
  2. Promote and advance a green future in Wales
  3. Deliver excellence, customer-first, financial stability 

 

We fund businesses that we think will benefit Wales and its people. The ones that will create ripples of growth. The ones that are more than a good business model or a great idea. We finance responsible businesses - those with a strong social, ethical and environmental standards, as well as real commercial promise. 

 

At the Development Bank of Wales, we are committed to providing our customers exceptional service and are led by our values in everything we do. You can read more about our customer charter here.

 

The Development Bank of Wales Group is made up of the Development Bank of Wales, Angels Invest Wales and fund manager FW Capital. Find out more about our corporate structure. 

For our strategic and corporate documents please see our reports and documents section.

If you suspect you have been targeted by a scam, you can find out more on how to identify fraudulent communications and what to do next here.

What's next?

You can check if your business is eligible for a loan in less than five minutes with our online eligibility checker. 

Check now