First half sees SYIF invest £2m
SOUTH Yorkshire Investment Fund (SYIF) has invested around £2m in the region’s businesses during the first six months of 2009.
The venture capital and loan fund, based in Rotherham, provided investments totaling £1,8m between January 1 and June 30.
In January, SYIF received an additional £7m from regional agency Yorkshire Forward to support business growth in Yorkshire during 2009 before the start of the planned Successor Fund later this year.
The figures released today by SYIF also highlight how the investments made since January 2009 has helped businesses.
A total of 259 businesses were assisted, creating and safeguarding 502 jobs and creating £132.3m worth of additional sales.
Tony Goulbourn, chief executive of South Yorkshire Investment Fund, said: “The investment figures for 2009 are encouraging and we are looking forward to providing more funding for businesses during the rest of the year.
“As the latest economic output figures show, the investments are crucial to supporting business growth in South Yorkshire. This will create a significant boost to the region’s economy.”
SYIF’s initial investment period came to an end in December 2008 after investing a total of almost £50m in businesses (including money with management).
The money helped create and safeguard a total of 8,000 jobs and generated more than £425m worth of additional sales.
Seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2.5m are available from SYIF, specifically to help small and medium businesses meet the gaps in funding they need for growth and development.
