Member Article

Strengthening management at North East Finance

North East Finance (NEF), which manages the region’s £125m Finance for Business Fund, has recruited Jane Reynolds as its business manager for Tees Valley.

Jane, who is Chair of Tees Valley Business Club, will work closely with local SMEs, business support organisations and the fund managers responsible for investing the £125m portfolio to encourage deal making in the area.

The Finance for Business Fund was launched in 2010 and comprises seven funds operated by six different fund managers which will support businesses and entrepreneurs with strong commercial prospects across the North East through to 2014.

The programme has already made a string of investments into ambitious Teesside businesses such as software developer CANNDi (100k), manufacturer Xena Systems (200k), energy from waste company Solvert (100k) and medical device supplier Femeda since launching.

Jane’s appointment will help the programme build on this successful start to make more businesses aware of the opportunities and improve investor readiness.

Jane said: “This is an exciting opportunity and I’m really looking forward to be joining the NEF team and encouraging investment in our most exciting companies.

“The fund managers have made some excellent investments and built a strong foundation since the launch of the programme two years ago. My role is to help build on this momentum to ensure North East Finance builds a strong legacy for the Tees Valley.”

Jane, who will be based at Wynyard Park, has a wealth of business experience and excellent contacts across the Tees Valley as a result of previous posts with organisations including Finance Tree, Connect and Bridge Club. She has also worked overseas in the US and Holland.

Jane added: “I’ll be out and about working closely with the fund managers to meet as many businesses, intermediaries and support organisations as possible. We want to ensure people are aware of the opportunities and are in the best position to take advantage of the funds.

“We have some fantastic businesses in Tees Valley and a range of emerging sectors with lots of new ideas and this is a great opportunity to support future success.”

Jane will be attending a range of events in the Tees Valley over the coming months.

Andrew Mitchell chief executive of North East Finance said: “I’m delighted we have someone of Jane’s experience and contacts to support the second phase of the Finance for Business programme.

“We’ve shown time and time again how we can use this public money to attract private investment and stimulate deals. We need to make the most of this over the next three years to build more successful and sustainable SMEs and Jane’s appointment will help us to achieve this.”

The Finance for Business programme was set up with funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Investment Bank (EIB).

The seven funds in the portfolio include: North East Accelerator Fund, Angel Fund, Growth Fund, Growth Plus Fund, Microloan Fund, Proof of Concept Fund and Technology Fund to cater for a range of business needs across a broad range of sectors.

For more information about the programme visit [www.northeastfinance.org](http://www.northeastfinance.org/? target=) or contact Jane Reynolds on 07730 763045

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by North East Access to Finance .