£1bn milestone as NPIF continues to support business expansion
More than £1bn has been invested in Northern companies after the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) surpassed a significant milestone.
It has made £405m of direct investments, enabling £613m of private sector co-investment.
Launched in 2017 by the British Business Bank, NPIF provides commercially-focused finance through its microfinance, debt and equity finance funds which offer financing ranging from £25,000 to £2m, specifically to help small and medium-sized businesses secure the funding they need for growth and development.
To date, it has supported 1,188 companies through 1,636 investments and has also helped create more than 7,900 jobs across the region. The North West has secured £537m of direct and private sector co-investment since the launch of the fund.
Recent success stories include two in the North West region, MyPura, a husband-and-wife-founded eco-friendly nappy company that recently expanded internationally into the USA, and Chester-based ChloBo, a handmade jewellery brand that is also expanding overseas.
Founded in 2019, Cheshire-based MyPura secured a £4.25m funding round in February 2022.
Used to expand its B2B sales and drive international growth, the transaction included £4m of funding split evenly across the Maven VCTs, NPIF-Maven Equity Finance which is part of NPIF and Maven Investor Partners.
In June 2023, MyPura announced that it had secured a deal with Walmart to supply its products to American consumers.
Elsewhere, ChloBo, received a £70,000 loan from NPIF-River & GC Microfinance in August 2020, which River Capital manages in partnership with GC Business Finance as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. The funds enabled ChloBo to expand its operations, enhance its product line, and strengthen its position in the jewellery market.
Founded in 2004, by mother and daughter team, Sue and Chloe Moss, ChloBo used the funding to secure 24 jobs and create a further eight. The new additions helped double its turnover between 2020 and 2023 and it has since expanded its UK network of independent resellers through the addition of 35 more stores.
The funding also boosted its international presence through the addition of more than 50 new resellers in Ireland. ChloBo’s online sales increased in Ireland by in excess of 50% between 2020 and 2023.
ChloBo is now headed by CEO, Dave Rosalski and managing director, Andi Lee. Dave Rosalski said: “The NPIF funding helped catapult us into the next phase of business development, and we really feel the positive impact it has made on our business. ”
Jim Moore, investment manager at River Capital, said: “ChloBo has continued to go from strength to strength. Growth has always been a part of their long term ambition and their transition into Ireland is evidence of this.”
NPIF’s £1bn milestone follows the recent news that the British Business Bank will be launching a second Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF II) a £660m investment fund to support the growth of small and medium-sized businesses across the North of England in early 2024. The current NPIF fund will continue to invest until the end of the year.
Ken Cooper, British Business Bank managing director, said: “The fund has made an incredible impact, not only through its own investment, but in its ability to attract extra private sector co-investment, boosting regional business and creating new opportunities for local people.”
