Frequently asked questions

Rosebud provides funding on a commercial basis to Lancashire-based small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Depending upon the individual requirements of your business, finance is available in a variety of forms which can be tailored to meet your funding needs, including loans, loans with equity options, equity and property loans. For clarity, Rosebud is not grant funding.

Any SME based within the administrative area of Lancashire, or any SME planning on relocating into Lancashire, is eligible to apply.

The administrative area of Lancashire includes Preston, West Lancashire, Lancaster, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale, Ribble Valley, Fylde, Wyre, South Ribble and Chorley. It excludes Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool due to their unitary authority status.

Lancashire County Developments Limited (LCDL), Lancashire County Council's economic development department finance Rosebud. It is managed on behalf of LCDL by EV.

The aim of Rosebud is to encourage economic growth, wealth creation and quality jobs for Lancashire people. Increasingly Rosebud aims to help secure other private and public sector investment, especially in sectors that will drive the County's future economy.

Whereas Rosebud will consider all funding requests on their merits, it is particularly interested in supporting SMEs which can demonstrate the capacity for strong, sustained growth, typically within key sectors such as Aerospace, Advanced Manufacturing, Digital and Creative, Energy and Environmental Technologies, Financial and Professional.

Funding is available from a minimum of £10,000 and Rosebud is flexible in its funding capabilities and can consider your funding requirements on an individual basis. There is no set maximum investment limit. Rosebud is interested in providing finance to any viable SME which can demonstrate growth in sales and employment.If you want to borrow less than £10,000 you may be able to access the Micro Finance Loans managed by Orvia on behalf of LCDL on 01772 422242.

Yes. In most cases a business plan would help support the application and EV will be able to advise whether this is essential. Application for funding can be considered by completing the standard Rosebud application form which is available to download from this website or from LCDL. A facility to submit applications electronically is under construction. Should you need assistance and guidance on how to prepare a business plan, we suggest you contact a business advisor at Business Link,or telephone: 0845 006 6888.

You initially need to contact Rosebud at either LCDL or through the managing agent, EV. Both LCDL and EV will be happy to discuss your proposals in outline and provide guidance as to how to proceed with your funding application. LCDL and EV will be able to advise you whether you need to submit a full business plan, or an application form. The application form is downloadable from the LCDL website. An SME can apply direct or through its financial advisor or other business support agent.

Rosebud can be used for all business purposes, including working capital and capital investment.

Yes. Rosebud is available to all SMEs at any stage of its development, be it start-up, early stage, development, acquisition, or change of ownership including buy outs and buy ins. Rosebud would also consider turnarounds provided viability is demonstrated.

Typically, the process can take between 4 and 10 weeks. Rosebud is responsive to all requests, and you will receive a prompt acknowledgement of your application, followed by an indication from the managing agent as to the time the process is likely to take, once EV has had the opportunity for a preliminary review of your funding requirements.

EV, as our managing agent, will oversee the funding process, and at the outset will advise the detail of the process to be undertaken. This will include details of information to be provided, meetings with management and key personnel, site visits, and other aspects of the review process including financial assessment.

No. The main operations of your business must be located in the Lancashire County Council administrative area.

Yes. If the main operations of your business are located in Lancashire then you are eligible to apply for Rosebud funding.

If you wish to relocate the main operations of your business outside of Lancashire, you will be required to repay any outstanding Rosebud funding in place at the time of your relocation.

The interest rate is comparable to that offered by the high street banks for business accounts and is typically based on the competitive commercial rate linked to the Royal Bank of Scotland’s base rate. The interest rate payable on any loans provided by Rosebud may be discussed with the investment team at EV and may vary depending on a number of factors.

Typically an arrangement fee of 2.5% of the total investment made by Rosebud is payable on completion of the investment. There may in certain instances be legal and/or due diligence costs payable – any such costs will be discussed with you and pre-advised.

The repayments are set on an annual basis so that you can plan your budget.  When the base rate changes the interest does change but your repayments only change every 12 months when the payments are recalculated.

This is not available at present; however you can talk to LCDL who will be able to refer you to other agencies. Please ring 01772 536600.

Each proposal is assessed on its own merits  – this can be discussed with you when you submit your application to the investment team at EV.

Yes. You can apply and negotiate a capital repayment holiday as part of your application. Each case will be considered on its own merits and circumstances.

Yes. As long as you advise EV of your credit history at the time of your application and provide all the necessary information, this will not in itself necessarily be a barrier to you obtaining funding.

This is unlikely - Rosebud likes to see a contribution from the applicant towards the funding requirement to demonstrate a financial commitment to the business.  Rosebud prefers to invest as part of a joint funding package whereby a proportion of the total funding package is to be provided from the applicant and/or other sources (usually in the form of conventional funding, such as bank overdraft).

Typically, repayment terms for Rosebud loans are up to five years with payments of loan and capital made on a monthly basis. Each funding package from Rosebud is structured to meet the applicant’s funding requirements and therefore repayment terms will vary. 
Capital repayment holidays are available in certain circumstances and this can be considered as part of the funding terms.

Yes and there are no penalties for repaying a loan early.

Yes. If you need further investment, you may approach Rosebud again for your borrowing requirement. To do so, you need to discuss this with your investment manager at EV.

Yes. The Lancashire Business Support Programme can provide other assistance, for example a financial contribution towards the cost of appointing a Non Executive Director, an accountant to set up business accounting systems or a company to help with your website design.  All this support is assessed on an individual basis.

Yes. Business Link can advise on a whole range of Business Support measures available across Lancashire – Call 0845 006 6888. Depending on how you have approached your application for investment from Rosebud, you should have the support of the local enterprise agency or another agency such as Creative Lancashire. 

In addition we always encourage people to contact their local council to see if they have any particular schemes that they may be able to take advantage of.

Yes – to begin with you should contact Business Link North West on 0845 006 6888 as a useful starting point. Beyond this some people starting up in business will also be eligible for more substantial support through the Intensive Business Start Up Support programme.

Other options are to work with your professional advisors, such as your accountant or corporate financer, who will assist in submitting your proposals. We recognise that many businesses will not require assistance and should submit their application form or business plan direct to the managing agent, EV, at info@evgroupuk.com.

Please contact LCDL on 01772 536600 if this is an issue for you.

You can speak to the investment team at EV who will have assessed your application to obtain further details in relation to the reasons why your application was unsuccessful.