£238m worth of investment poured into Yorkshire and North East firms

A major investor in growing businesses in the UK today announced it has committed £2bn into UK and Irish SMEs, £238m of which has been injected into Yorkshire and North East companies.

BGF has provided the cash for initial and follow-on investments across 23 businesses in the region since 2011.

Recent investments include money for South Yorkshire education recruitment specialists Operam Education Group and West Yorkshire business vehicle rental platform Fleetondemand.

Richard Taylor, BGF investor and head of the Leeds office, said: “In 2011, BGF set out to provide an alternative funding model to entrepreneurs and management teams going for growth.

“We’ve held an ongoing commitment to be regionally-focused which is evidenced through our diverse portfolio, investor network and offices.

“Our expansion across Yorkshire and the North East in the last year is a real testament to the great entrepreneurs we’re meeting and supporting across the region.

“It’s encouraging to see the investment which takes BGF across the £2bn mark based here in the North, and despite the Brexit uncertainty the growth ambitions held by business owners in our region is clear.

“We’re looking forward to seeing more entrepreneurs use BGF’s funding to scale up their business, driving economic activity, employment, exports and growth.”

Early this year BGF launched a new campaign, ‘Ready for Business’ – an initiative designed to encourage investors to advocate for continued growth and commit to entrepreneurs.

Stephen Welton, CEO of BGF, said: “The BGF model is not based on a conventional fund – we are a company, with a strong and liquid balance sheet, set up for long-term investing and long-term growth.

“This is a core part of our appeal to entrepreneurs, vital in meeting the funding gap for growth companies in Britain and Ireland, and I’m delighted to see our model being embraced and adopted internationally.

“This is a great example of the UK’s proven leadership in Financial Services, through carefully planned regulatory changes, to deliver a completely new investment model.”

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