A funding package worth £550million to businesses in and around Gloucestershire has been launched by HSBC to help small and medium-sized business.

The Gloucestershire, Bristol Bath and Wiltshire SME fund is part of a wider £14billion pot for use by businesses across the UK.

Since launching the SME fund in 2014, HSBC has committed more than £60billion to UK SME's in order to help them innovate, evolve and grown.

Leeways Packaging Services from Churcham near Gloucester were one of the businesses to benefit from the fund.

They received a £400,000 finance package from HSBC in order to help install a solar panel system at their base.

The HSBC UK 2019 Fund includes increased ring-fenced pots for international businesses and for the agriculture sector.

The allocation for international business has been doubled to £2 billion to help companies grow overseas, while the agriculture pot has increased to £1 billion from £300 million last year.

Daniel Felton, HSBC UK's Regional Director for Corporate Baking in the South West and Wales, said: "The launch of this year's fund shows our commitment to support the growth aspirations of SMEs across Gloucestershire.

"This fund is all about helping businesses to take new opportunities and grow and we want to reassure them that we're here to support them achieve their goals."

"We recently supported local business Leeways Packaging Services Ltd with a £400,000 finance package from the SME Fund, which helped it a achieve its sustainability goals with a new a solar panel system."

Amanda Murphy, Head of Commercial Banking at HSBC UK, added: "Our SME Fund will help companies seize new opportunities for growth at home and overseas.

"We've always supported ambitious businesses, and we see it as our responsibility to be there for our customers whether conditions are benign or challenging.

"This year's Fund is therefore part of a broader range of initiatives that we have in place to support British business as they navigate Brexit in a fast-changing world."

To help customers prepare for Brexit, HSBC UK has launched a dedicated helpline for customers with Brexit-related financial concerns.

The bank has had more than 15,000 conversations with customers about Brexit so far this year and has held more than 60 sessions across the country to talk to SMEs about the current economic landscape and how to plan for growth.