New senior execs at NW Fund ‘by Christmas’

THE North West Fund is expecting to appoint a new chief executive and chairman by Christmas.

Both interim chief executive John McGuire and chairman Lord Daresbury have stepped down from their roles at North West Business Finance which manages the fund.

Former KPMG senior North West partner Malcolm Edge is now interim chairman and Cliff Maylor, chief financial officer, is responsible for day-to-day operations.

In a statement the fund said Mr McGuire had left to “concentrate on other commitments”, while no explanation was given for Lord Daresbury’s departure. A tweet sent from the fund’s Twitter account on Friday said, “We’ll be appointing a Chairman + CEO by Christmas.”

Their departures have capped an eventful year for the fund which was launched in late 2010 with £185m from the European Investment Bank and the European Regional Development Fund to invest in North West businesses.

In July chief executive Andy Leach departed suddenly and was replaced by Mr McGuire. In October it emerged that YFM Equity Partners was no longer managing the £45m Development Capital sub fund, which was subsequently trimmed to £30m – with £15m being returned to Europe.

The fund has invested £29m in 80 businesses this year, up on £10.6m last year.