Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II provides £660m boost for small businesses

It aims to build on the success of the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund in 2017, which has delivered more than £445m of direct and private co-sector investment into 552 businesses, helping to create nearly 4,300 jobs across Yorkshire and the Humber.

Louis Taylor, the chief executive of the British Business Bank, said: “The success of the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund has proven the instrumental change that access to finance can have for small businesses. From creating hundreds of jobs to developing ground-breaking products, we have seen companies that previously lacked funding options accelerate forward in their growth journeys, which has ultimately benefitted the whole of the Northern economy. This is why it was important to continue the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund into its next phase.

"With further funding available, and a greater geographical reach in the North East, the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will engage more stakeholders across the regions, bringing the business community closer together to create more opportunities for entrepreneurs everywhere.”

Yorkshire businesses which benefitted from the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund include Castings Technology International (CTI), a casting manufacturer based in Rotherham.

Richard Cook, managing director at CTI, said: “We are innovators by nature, and since the fund’s involvement, we have been able to fulfil orders and deliver on contracts for some of the biggest brands.”

Tinsley Bridge, a Sheffield engineering firm which is a major supplier of suspension parts to the European truck industry, also received support from NPIF funding.

Mark Webber, the company’s managing director, said: “With the help of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund we’ve been able to meet record demand in several of our key markets, despite disruptions in the global supply chain.”

Following today’s official launch in Leeds, the British Business Bank will be holding a roadshow of events for small business finance intermediaries across the region to provide more information about the fund, including an event in Sheffield on April 30. Further dates for roadshow events in Liverpool, Hull, Lancashire, Tees Valley, York, Cheshire, Durham, Cumbria and Northumberland will be announced shortly.

Applications for funding are made directly to the relevant fund managers who can be contacted via the NPIF II webpage www.northernpowerhouseinvestmentfund.co.uk