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Image caption: Pix: Shaun Flannery/shaunflanneryphotography.com COPYRIGHT PICTURE>>SHAUN FLANNERY>01302-570814>>07778315553>> 8th May 2018 Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund 1 Year Anniversary Event Aspire, Leeds L-R Ken Cooper, Managing Director, Venture Solutions, BBB, Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of the NPIF SOB and Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, Caroline Theobald, Ash Lewis, CEO of Ash TV, Amanda Hesketh, Senior Partner at Hesketh James, Dr. Gordon Baker, CEO of MicroBioSensor.

10th May 2018

NPIF celebrates strong start to the year with £50m milestone

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Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) has invested more than £50 million across the Northern Powerhouse region, supporting over 260 small and medium growing companies.

The significant achievement was announced by Ken Cooper, Managing Director, Venture Solutions at the British Business Bank as he spoke to investee businesses, key stakeholders, partners and fund managers at NPIF’s one-year anniversary event in Leeds.

The £400m Fund, which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, HM Government, and the European Investment Bank, was launched by the British Business Bank as a key part of the government’s ‘Northern Powerhouse’ vision, which aims to create economic prosperity in the North of England.

To date, NPIF investment – provided through appointed fund managers – has already supported Northern-based SMEs across a range of sectors. The funding has been used to launch new products, employ new staff, enter new markets and launch new facilities. Recent deals include:

• A £250,000 investment from NPIF – Maven Equity Finance into Preston-based eOrigen, a digital media production company producing award winning training and educational content. The investment, facilitated by Maven Capital Partners, will support the firm’s aim to be at the forefront of digital learning by assisting with research and development of emerging technologies and learning innovations.
• Leeds-based photography company Powerhouse, whose clients include major supermarkets and food producers, received a £250,000 investment from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance. This has enabled the company to purchase and fit out new premises which they will be moving into imminently.
• A £125,000 investment made by NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance is helping Darlington-based craft supplier and manufacturer Debbi Moore Designs Ltd on its industry-leading position to break into the lucrative US market and create four jobs in Tees Valley.
• Cheshire-based CSols Labs Ltd, which develops software for the international laboratory instrument industry, received a £50,000 loan from NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance. The finance, delivered by MSIF, will provide the business with the working capital needed to develop two innovative software products set to disrupt the analytical laboratory market.

Speaking at NPIF’s one-year anniversary event, Ken Cooper, Managing Director at British Business Bank, said: “NPIF investments have impacted all corners of the Northern Powerhouse area, unlocking finance for businesses across the North West, Yorkshire & the Humber and the Tees Valley.  With deals ranging from a design, engineering and project management business in Grimsby to a cheese maker in Cumbria and advanced manufacturing businesses in Hull and Liverpool.

“The success of NPIF has played a key role in our regional agenda of tackling historic regional disparities in funding, not just here in the Northern Powerhouse region but we have been able to build on the successful model used here to develop funds in the Midlands, through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) which we launched in February, and we will soon be launching a fund for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Fund.”

Roger Marsh, OBE, Chairman of the NPIF SOB and Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) said: “It’s really great news that the NPIF has invested over £50 million so far, supporting growing businesses and boosting the economy as a result.  As NPIF celebrates its first anniversary this week I am delighted that we have hit this investment milestone and that businesses across the region and North are benefiting.”

Northern Powerhouse Minister, Jake Berry, said: “Hard-working families across the Northern Powerhouse are benefitting from better paid jobs along with a host of exciting new economic opportunities thanks to the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. As more businesses than ever before receive the capital they need to expand, it’s clear that the Northern Powerhouse is one of the most rapidly-growing, business-friendly regions in the UK”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund provides microloans, debt and equity investments, ranging from £25,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.  The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is delivered by The British Business Bank.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

For more information about Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, please visit www.npif.co.uk.

Photo Caption: L-R: Ken Cooper (British Business Bank), Roger Marsh (Chairman of the NPIF SOB and Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership), Caroline Theobald (Bridge Club), Ash Lewis (AshTV), Amanda Hesketh (Hesketh James), Dr Gordon Barker (Microbiosensor)

Editors Notes