£1bn offered as Olympic incentive

LLOYDS Banking Group has pledged to make £1 billion of loans available over the next two years to help businesses fund Olympic and Paralympic Games projects.

Lloyds said it would stage more than 500 nationwide seminars in the lead up to the olympics,  to help firms understand the business benefits of the Games.

Sebastian Coe, Chair, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), said: “London 2012 is not just about sporting talent and it is not just about London. Across the UK, there are thousands of incredible businesses that could stand to benefit from the huge economic boost that will come from the Games. ”

The funding will be open to any firms that win contracts with the Olympic Development Authority, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, as well as any suppliers to firms that already hold contracts.

Donald Kerr, Lloyds’s head of commercial banking for Scotland, said: “There is still time to take a share of the Olympic pie. We also want to encourage firms that are not yet involved to act quickly.”

Share with others...