Brain injury charity uses Unity Trust Bank loan to expand
Howard Lake | 15 March 2007 | News
Headway West Midlands has expanded its services into new premises using a combination of grant funding and a commercial loan. The £200,000 loan came from Birmingham-based Unity Trust Bank, the bank which is committed to working in partnership with shareholders in the trade union and co-operative movements.
The move to The Surgeon’s House, a Grade 2 listed building in Great Park, Rubery, will enable the charity to provide services to over 300 more brain injured people in the region every year.
Sue Tyler, Chief Executive Officer of Headway West Midlands, said: “We chose to work with Unity because, aside from offering the greatest flexibility and best terms, they really understood the issues a charity can face and were supportive of this.
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Nigel Price, Relationship Manager of Unity, said: “At a time when charities increasingly have to struggle to raise funds, Headway West Midlands has taken the innovative step of moving from grant funding to a commercial loan. The charity works to provide a long term solution to a growing problem and by acquiring an asset base in the form of a property it is securing its own future in the area.
“Headway is answering a real need in the local community and I’m glad we are able to play a role in helping it to fulfil that. We’ve supported other branches of Headway and we also provide banking services to the national charity.”
The purchase and refurbishment of the property totals £600,000. In addition to the loan, the purchase was made using a Lottery grant of £140,000; donations of £75,000 and Headway’s own reserves of £185,000.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.