Member Article

£120m North East Fund now available to SMEs across the region

The new £120m North East Fund, a follow-up to the hugely successful JEREMIE Fund, has now gone live after an agreement was signed by representatives from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and The North East Fund Limited (TNEFL) on the 26th March 2018.

Supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the fund offers a range of investments including equity, debt and mezzanine funding throughout the North East. Launched in 2010, the original JEREMIE Fund had a significant impact on the region, helping over 1,000 SMEs realise business goals and safeguarding or creating 6,000 jobs in the process.

As part of an agreement with the European Investment Bank, the North East Fund will invest exclusively in the North East LEP area but will sit alongside the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) to drive business across the North as a whole.

Four fund managers have been appointed to deliver this new funding and the range of funding available covers everything from small loans of £20,000 to equity investment of £1m and unsecured lending of up to £2m. The funding is split into the following categories:

• The Development Capital Fund – Managed by Maven Capital Partners • The Venture Fund – Managed by Mercia Fund Managers • The Growth Capital Fund and The Small Loan Fund – Managed by NEL Fund Managers • The Innovation Fund – Managed by Northstar Ventures

UNW worked with NEL Fund Managers and FW Capital to support SMEs who secured significant investment throughout the original JEREMIE programme, including a trio of innovative tech firms who used the funding to support their commercialisation, marketing and expansion.

Neville Bearpark, Corporate Finance Partner at UNW commented: “The North East Fund is an eagerly anticipated addition to the funding landscape in the North East. Such is the demand for regional SME funding that we are already working with a number of clients to secure funding through these new funds.”

**UNW has vast experience supporting businesses through various investment and funding opportunities. For more information, please visit our raising finance page at http://www.unw.co.uk/raising-finance **

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richard Turnbull .