Social lender Triodos Bank has teamed up with a Scottish social investment firm to offer £5 million of loan finance to third sector organisations seeking to purchase property.

The fund will allow Scottish voluntary and community groups to borrow up to 95 per cent of the value of a property.

Triodos will lend up to 70 per cent of the value of the property and SIS will fund the remaining 20-30 per cent.

The loan package will enable organisations either to purchase the freehold or take over ownership of a building on a long lease. Applicants to the scheme will also be offered legal services.

A spokeswoman for Triodos said that "many third sector organisations in Scotland do not have the equity needed to purchase their own property despite that fact that, in the current market, there is a real opportunity for them to do so".

She said: "By initially making available up to £5 million, the Triodos/SIS loan product will provide the Scottish third sector with crucial access to finance it might not otherwise be able to obtain."

Craig Campbell, chief executive of SIS Scotland, said: "We regularly hear how difficult it is for Scottish third sector organisations to find the finance to enable expansion plans, and hope that this will help them realise their ambitions for growth."

SIS manages a range of social funds, including the Scottish Government’s £30 million Scottish Investment Fund.