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Back to Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund News – Issue 13

Foreword

This quarter, the British Business Bank released its Regions and Nations Tracker, detailing the geographic patterns seen in UK smaller business finance. While there are clear opportunities in pockets across the country, it is encouraging to note that 86% of businesses supported by the Bank’s programmes are based outside of London.

The £500m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund has played a significant role in that. Since its launch in 2017, the Fund has continued to demonstrate the power of bringing the Northern LEPs, Combined Authorities and all other key regional stakeholders together to support business growth and innovation. We have seen these partners learn to adapt quickly to the evolving economic backdrop and I have been proud of NPIF’s response and resolve in building a stronger North.

For the businesses NPIF supports, the capital is opening doors to new opportunity, whether that is meeting demand for new products and services, moving into entirely new markets, upskilling staff or accelerating job creation.

With the success of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund evident through the businesses it has touched to date, we welcomed the Chancellor’s new commitment in the October Autumn Statement of £660m for Northern businesses. It was confirmed that the next generation of NPIF will cover every corner of the North, with the North East LEP area on board for this next phase.

It is very positive to see our Northern communities coming together to back such an instrumental initiative for the future of smaller businesses. Not only is this a real boost for businesses across the region, but it is also a key pillar of the Bank’s commitment to supporting investment in businesses across the whole of the UK.

This news came as NPIF approaches its £300m investment mark, backing almost 940 Northern businesses in deals that have attracted an additional £377m of private sector co-investment. With the new generation of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund promising to open new opportunities and investment streams across the North, I am confident that it will be successful, building on the impacts of NPIF to date.

Although 2021 can only be described as turbulent, we have witnessed unrivalled levels of hard work and commitment from the region’s business community to not only to adapt but to begin to look to growth once again. The impact made in that time has been truly impressive and, with the new generation of NPIF in the pipeline providing further access to finance, businessees in the region are set in good stead for the future.

I would once again like to say a personal thank you to all of our stakeholders, partners and fund managers involved in NPIF and the businesses in the communities in which it was designed to support. Your continued hard work, dedication and support of the future of Northern business and the UK’s economic recovery has got us to where we are today and I look forward to seeing the impact that this new era of NPIF will have in time.

Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO, British Business Bank

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank…

Editors Notes