Local SMEs encouraged to apply for new £27m funding

Regional businesses are being invited to apply for investments from two new funds worth £27m in total that could help them expand their operations and create new jobs.

NEL Fund Managers is the only fund management firm to be awarded two of the five funds that make up the new £120m ‘North East Fund Supported By The European Regional Development Fund’, and is now actively looking for potential investees from the Tyne and Wear, Durham and Northumberland areas to put applications forward.

The £18m North East Growth Capital Fund has been designed to create over 800 jobs in more than 70 regional firms over the next five years, and offers unsecured investments of up to £500k to established businesses looking to realise their growth potential.

Dr Yvonne Gale, chief executive at NEL Fund Managers, said: “Our investment mission is now to start utilising these funds as quickly and efficiently as possible, and to get them to management teams with robust growth plans that will take their businesses forward.

“Being given responsibility for managing two elements of the North East Fund is recognition of our track record of investing successfully in firms that have gone to scale up their operations, create new regional jobs and achieve commercial success.”

Aimed predominantly at smaller SMEs, the £9m North East Small Loan Fund can offer loans between £10k and £50k to businesses, and is designed to assist with the creation of over 500 new regional jobs in more than 320 SMEs over the same period.

Over the last three decades, NEL Fund Managers has successfully managed and closed 13 investment funds with a total value of over £95m, and specialises in impact investment within high growth SMEs.

It was most recently responsible for making investments worth a total of £30m from the Finance For Business North East Growth Fund, with the financial returns received on these investments recently passing the £25m mark with two years of the fund’s management cycle still remaining.

Yvonne added: “Both the Growth Capital Fund and Small Loan Fund have been tailored to meet the investment needs of specific businesses, and are available to firms trading across most industry sectors for a wide range of purposes.

“Our investments make a tangible long-term impact on the sustainable success of the North East economy, and we’re excited at the opportunities to help even more regional firms achieve their goals over the next five years.”

The overarching North East Fund will provide financial support for more than 600 businesses, creating around 3,500 jobs and delivering a legacy of up to £80m for further investment into the region.

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