Olympic firms promised £1bn in small business support

Lloyds Bank thinks the games will spread wealth beyond the winners

Lloyds Bank says it has earmarked at least £1bn ($1.63bn) of loans to help firms fund Olympic and Paralympic-centred projects.

Many larger contracts have already been awarded but there are smaller and supplier contracts to be agreed.

Lloyds was unable to say whether this represented new money. It said loans would be granted under the terms of its existing "SME Charter".

The total value of contracts connected to London 2012 is an estimated £6bn.

That includes £1bn of direct contracts and an estimated £5bn for suppliers to those companies that win business.

Rippling out

In the run-up to the 2012 contest, Lloyds will stage over 500 nationwide seminars to help firms understand the business benefits of the Games.

London 2012 is not just about sporting talent and it is not just about London Sebastian Coe, Chair, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Game

Lloyds believes thousands of businesses that do not have official contracts stand to benefit from what it thinks will be a ripple effect generated by the games.

It gives as examples of businesses that may gain as retailers in the area surrounding the Olympic site, or providers of services as diverse as catering, transport, or language translation, across the country.

Sebastian Coe, Chair, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), said: "London 2012 is not just about sporting talent and it is not just about London. Across the UK, there are thousands of incredible businesses that could stand to benefit from the huge economic boost that will come from the Games. "