Unity Trust Bank and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) have launched a new £50m loan fund for Scotland.

Available at £10m a year, the fund has been made available specifically to create business centres for socially/third sector focused organisations across Scotland.

John Ferguson, director of Development and Programmes at SCVO, said: “Since the loan scheme was initially announced before Christmas, we have been delighted by the number of requests from organisations across Scotland for more information. Now that the scheme’s officially open for applications, we’d like to hear from anyone else who thinks the fund might help them.

“Increasingly, we are seeing the ownership of premises become an important means by which voluntary organisations can control their costs and ensure sustainability.

"This scheme is aimed at helping more organisations achieve this goal, whilst benefiting from the shared back-office services and the proximity of working with other like-minded organisations.

“It will help organisations across Scotland put assets on their balance sheet and create better environments for staff and people who use their services.”

Available to SCVO members, the money - in the form of loans - is designed to be used to buy either new-build premises or finance the refurbishment of existing properties.

Share Story: