Member Article

Fund managers sign off £1.35 million investments in one day

North East investment house NEL Fund Managers says it has completed the single most valuable day of investments in its 23-year history as it signs of £1.35 million investments.

Four tranches of money from the Finance for Business North East Growth Fund, including £400k into Sunderland-based cleaners Maxim Facilities Management and tech firm Activ, made for bumper day.

Barrie Hensby, chief executive at NEL, says: “Completing four deals on the same day is a terrific achievement by our investment team and the professional advisors that were involved with each one, and shows just how much interest there is across the regional business community in the capital options we’re able to provide.

“The impact of our investment ceiling being raised was almost instantaneous, and while we knew just how much demand there had been for Growth Fund investments since 2010, even we were perhaps a little surprised by how much immediate interest it created.

“The rate of investment enquiries we’re receiving remains as high as ever, partly as a result of the difficulties many firms still face in accessing capital from traditional lenders, but also partly due to the attractiveness of this type of mezzanine funding in comparison to equity investments.

“Accessing capital from the Growth Fund allows company owners and management teams to implement strategies that they believe will enable their businesses to expand and thrive while also retaining full ownership of the company that they’re worked so hard to create and build up.

“More than two-thirds of The Growth Fund has now been invested, but we’re very much still looking to talk to even more firms with robust development plans in any part of the region about how we can help them realise their ambitions.”

The Finance for Business North East Growth Fund aims to create 1,500 new jobs in the region and safeguard a further 1,300 through its investment in growth stage business.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .