Great news! Funding for Lending is kick-starting business

The government's Funding for Lending scheme may have been met with rolled eyes, but initial feedback is proving it to be a success.

The £80 billion scheme has been split regionally and is already saving businesses £25m.

Banks are noticing the impact too, with RBS and NatWest reporting a 15% increase in applications for  its discounted loans in the first month.

Simon Mellin is one of many entrepreneurs who've benefitted from the scheme. His Roaming Roosters butcher and bistro is reaping the rewards after Funding for Lending enabled his business to expand.

He says: "We built a farm shop and a bistro, we needed the finance to get that going, without funding for lending we would never have been able to get that done."

Hear more about Simon's story here:

It is expected that £100m in total will be saved on the cost of borrowing over the life of the scheme.

"This is a real opportunity to stimulate growth across the UK - the strongest way we can do this is to offer our best ever terms on SME loans, says Chris Sullivan, CEO, RBS Corporate Banking. "We hope this gives more businesses the confidence they need to invest."

For more information on funding for lending, click here