'MORE BUSINESSES CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CARBON TRUST INTEREST FREE LOANS' - BURT

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 1st Sep 2009

Solihull's MP, Lorely Burt is encouraging businesses in the borough to take advantage of interest-free loans from the Carbon Trust to improve their energy efficiency and save money.

Mrs Burt, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for small business, said she wanted to ensure that SMEs across Solihull and the West Midlands were aware that they could now apply for a loan to recover from the recession by cutting both their energy costs and their carbon footprints.

Lorely Burt MP said:

"The Carbon Trust has now extended their loan scheme to offer loans as low as £3000 to help micro-businesses. The upper limit has also been doubled from £200,000 to £400,000 to help meet the needs of medium businesses with high energy spends.

"In most cases, businesses taking a Carbon Trust loan to update their equipment find the savings they make on energy bills exceeds the cost of loan repayments. This means they benefit from brand new equipment, increased efficiency and reduced running costs, all at no expense to the business.

"Applying for the loan can be done online at www.carbontrust.co.uk/loans or by phoning 01865 885 870. There are no arrangement fees and you get a decision within 24 hours."

SMEs can also benefit from free energy saving assessments from a Carbon Trust expert and a tailored action plan that identifies the savings that could be made by replacing energy guzzling equipment. For more information on energy saving assessments, email ann.morgan@carbontrust.co.uk

ENDS