£145m of private sector investment leveraged to support businesses in the North
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) has completed over 300 deals in 2021 at a value of £87m, with an additional £145m leveraged from the private sector.
This brings the total number of deals completed since the Fund’s inception in 2017 to 1,256, with this year seeing NPIF fund managers complete 185 debt finance deals, worth nearly £40m and microfinance fund managers complete 57 loans at a value of £4m. Support for organisations through equity finance was also strong, with NPIF delivering 58 equity finance deals, facilitating £30m of investment through its equity fund managers Maven and Mercia.
Over the last four years NPIF has invested £295m in over a thousand businesses, and with demand from businesses for vital growth funding high 2022 is expected to be another strong year of deal activity.
This year has seen several notable investments across the North. This includes a £1.25m investment, part of a larger £3.25m funding round for RwHealth to set up a new clinical research team based across Manchester and Leeds. The investment from NPIF – Maven Equity Finance will enable the company to further strengthen its position in the healthcare sector.
Sean Hutchinson
Sean Hutchinson, senior investment manager at British Business Bank, said: “Off the back of an extremely challenging year, NPIF has completed at least 1 deal every working day in 2021. As we look towards 2022 and how we can collectively build a stronger north, the power of accessible funding options for smaller businesses cannot be underplayed.
“The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund will continue a central role in making that a reality, offering more than just finance, but support and guidance to some of the UK’s most exciting businesses. With the Chancellor pledging £660m for a successor Fund, we can expect many more businesses to grow and prosper and the North’s economy to fulfil its enormous potential.”
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The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is one of the sponsors of next year’s Invest North conference, which on 2 March 2022 will ring together business and political leaders to add detail an analysis to the “Whats next” excitement that is building across the region.
