Pending Approval of 57 Applications, Support Lubbock Fund

(LUBBOCK) – The Support Lubbock Fund, established by the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, Market Lubbock, Inc. and the South Plains Association of Governments (SPAG), received 57 complete applications after announcing the fund on Wednesday, April 22. The $2 million designated for the fund is not allocated yet; however, if the applications which are in the queue are all approved, the fund will be exhausted.

In total, SPAG received between 300 and 400 emails ranging from inquiries to complete applications regarding the fund. From these emails, a list was developed of approximately 91 businesses ranging from incomplete to complete in submission status. Within this subset, 57 small businesses were identified. SPAG is in various stages with these small businesses from processing the information in their software to complete financial analysis.

More than 90% of the loans requested are for businesses with less than $2.5 million in annual gross revenue. Between $100,000 and $500,000, SPAG received 23 applications, and between $500,000 and $2.5 million, 29 applications were submitted. Five companies with more than $2.5 million in annual gross revenue submitted an application for funding. Of all 57 loan applications, only one applicant asked for the maximum allowed based on the category of the business.

On Wednesday, April 29, a week from the announcement of the fund, SPAG’s loan committee will meet via conference call to review the first 20 loans. If all 20 loans are approved, those small businesses would account for approximately $700,000 of the fund. Then, Friday, May 1 and again the following week, the committee will meet to approve the remaining loans.

SPAG continued to process an ‘on-deck’ group which contains about 10 additional applications in case a business in the first allocation falls out. If all 57 applications are funded, the $2 million Support Lubbock Fund is spoken for.

CEO and President of LEDA and Market Lubbock, Inc. John Osborne said he expects small businesses to see the $2 million in funds deployed by mid-May.

“We are very pleased to work with our local companies to help during this challenging time,” said Osborne. “Our hope is that the funds assist our small business community as they bridge the time between now and when they can open for business. The LEDA and Market Lubbock staff appreciate the efforts of the State of Texas and the City of Lubbock to begin the process of restarting our economy.” 

About LEDA

Since its inception in 2004, LEDA has assisted 147 companies with their expansion or relocation to Lubbock. These companies committed to creating 7,393 jobs and investing more than $942 million in new capital improvements that have resulted in $1.4 billion in value added impact to the Lubbock area.

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