NPIF invests £300m into Northern firms, leveraging in £400m of private sector cash
More than £300m has been directly invested in 952 businesses across the North of England by the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
Together with an extra £400m of private sector co-investment, the total delivery is in excess of £700m.
NPIF was launched in 2017 specifically to target market gaps and regional imbalances in access to finance.
So far the fund has made 1,280 investments into businesses of all sizes and sectors throughout the North.
Its total investment is broken down into £122m of equity finance, £162m in debt finance and £19m in microfinance.
The advanced manufacturing sector has proved the most popular for investments, embracing renewable energy and ecommerce to tech, media and telecoms.
Among its most recent investments is backing for Sheffield-based Casting Technology International (Cti), which completed a £2m funding round in 2021 led by NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance, which is part of NPIF and managed by Mercia.
Since completing the deal, funding has allowed the company to expand its manufacturing facility, based at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), amongst other improvements.
Other recent investments led by NPIF include a £2.1m joint-funding round into Chesterfield-based Konektio, a business that aims to transform industry with its Internet of Things software platform; a £500,000 investment from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance into Sheffield-based Airship Services, a software developer that works with leading restaurants and bar chains; And £250,000 investment from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance into Candy Hero, a Bradford-based importer and distributor of branded sweets, snacks and drinks.
Recently the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, confirmed the next generation of NPIF in the latest Spending Review with £660m of Government funding allocated to the British Business Bank for the launch of the next phase of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
British Business Bank CEO, Catherine Lewis La Torre, said: “The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is an important source of funding for hundreds of businesses across the North of England.
“Through improved access to finance, these investee businesses have been able to realise their growth plans create jobs and achieve their full potential.”
Sir Roger Marsh, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, NP11 group of Northern LEPs and NPIF Strategic Oversight Board, said: “There have been countless success stories in the NPIF portfolio to date, with organisations of all sizes and sectors enlisting the support of fund managers, Local Enterprise Partnerships and other regional stakeholders.
“With the recent announcement of the NPIF’s successor, which will also include the North East LEP area, this will inevitably help us build an environment where businesses continue to thrive.”
