£13m NPIF funding helps 200 entrepreneurs on their path to success
Around 200 North West businesses have benefited from £13m of investments from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF)
The funding has been provided by NPIF-GC and River Microfinance, which is managed by GC Business Finance (GCBF) and River Capital. Loans of between £25,000 and £100,000 have been deployed into the region’s small business community since 2017.
Alternative finance provider GCBF is responsible for distributing loans to businesses in Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Warrington, Lancashire and Cumbria, while River Capital is tasked with identifying lending opportunities across the Liverpool City Region.
Recent transactions include the £55,000 loan to Stockport-based digital media solutions business 9Ways Digital Media to boost the firm’s working capital requirements, and a £35,000 loan to Blackpool-based REAX, a specialist access and rescue training business, to bolster its team of specialist training instructors.
GCBF, which is a not-for-profit organisation, provides vital support to companies at application stage, and works alongside entrepreneurs to guide them on their journey as they scale. It operates using a fintech platform to provide a better experience for entrepreneurs and uses data to check eligibility and make faster decisions.
When looking at the distribution of finance across the local areas from GCBF and River Capital, 84 businesses have benefited in Greater Manchester, along with 45 in Liverpool City Region, 37 in Cheshire and Warrington, 28 in Lancashire and six in Cumbria.
While the fund managers operating on behalf of NPIF take a sector agnostic approach to lending, the information and communications sector accounted for 11% of loans, while administrative and support services, along with manufacturing both made up nine per cent.
Paul Breen, director of GC Business Finance, said: “We’ve worked hard over the past few years to develop a market leading fintech platform that enables us to distribute loans more quickly and effectively to entrepreneurs in all corners of our region.
“We’re proud to have supported so many dynamic companies that have huge potential to become leaders in their field as they launch incredible products and services, develop the next generation of talent, and constantly look for new ways to innovate.”
Keira Shepperson, director at the British Business Bank, said: “The partnership between the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and our fund managers showcases the strength of public-private sector collaboration in fostering regional economic transformation. So many early stage businesses have been underserved when it comes to accessing finance, and we’re delighted that GC Business Finance and River Capital have been able to reach this significant milestone to provide a boost to the next generation of entrepreneurs across the North West.”
Launched in 2017, NPIF was established by the British Business Bank to address the regional imbalances in access to finance by providing between £25,000 and £2m in equity, debt and micro finance to Northern businesses.
