Barclays and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a contract to avail a loan facility for further education (FE) colleges across the UK. This contract is expected to benefit the 24 FE colleges from lower cost finance comprising a total of GBP200m to fund almost GBP1 billion of capital projects.
The Barclays ‘EIB Loan Support for Education’ scheme aims to help reduce the cost of borrowing for institutions undertaking capital investment projects, ranging from refurbishments to campus expansion or redevelopment. The loans taken out by the colleges range from GBP1m to GBP16m with a term of three years or more. Customers eligible for the loan support will benefit from a single up-front payment of between GBP20,000 and GBP315,000, which can be used to reduce the cost of borrowing or for re-investment in the institution.
Chris Hearn, head of education at Barclays commercial bank, said: “Barclays commercial bank is delighted to be able to support these 24 colleges with access to this practical loan package that will make a huge difference to these institutions and their students. Barclays has an unrivalled, long standing relationship with the Further Education sector and we already lend £608m across 170 FE colleges in the UK.”
Simon Brooks, vice president responsible for lending operations in the UK, EIB said: “Many of the UK’s Further Education colleges need to modernise their campuses in order to deliver effectively to their students the courses and training that are needed in today’s economy. This loan means that Barclays commercial bank, in partnership with the European Investment Bank, will be able to offer FE colleges very attractive financial terms to allow them to undertake this much needed updating.”
