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Back to Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund News – Issue 15

Foreword

Welcome to the 5th anniversary edition of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund  quarterly newsletter. It’s been another active quarter for the Fund, as it welcomed more than 50 new deals, hit several key milestones, and continued to make an impact, as we strive to build a stronger north.

It’s now been three months since independent research company SQW released its highly promising evaluation report on the impact of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

It validated what many of us have seen first-hand, in that as a result of NPIF there has been a considerable boost to productivity, innovation and skills across the region, as well as the creation of thousands of jobs.

It is a feat that the British Business Bank takes immense pride in, and it is testament to the strength of the Northern Powerhouse network. We now have in place considerable partnerships between 10 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), Combined Authorities, Growth Hubs and Fund Managers in the North, to ensure that talented businesses have the means to prosper.

It has enabled us to deliver more than £334m of investment directly from NPIF, alongside an additional £504m in private sector co-investment, to more than 1,000 businesses of all sizes and sectors, across both rural and urban areas. It’s allowed us to create a stronger north with greater opportunity, whilst imbuing a sense of unity between the region’s private and public sector organisations.

If we are to continue to reduce historic funding imbalances between the North and London, it is vital that this network continues to thrive both now, and when the second generation of NPIF arrives.

This has been a major driver behind the recently launched Stronger North Roadshows – a series of special virtual and in-person events across the Northern Powerhouse region – to provide access to this network and mark the fifth anniversary year of NPIF.

Now that we have surpassed the five-year mark, it is an apt moment to take a step back to consider the progress made to-date. It’s been a challenging spell for businesses over the past few years, yet NPIF and its network have remained ever-present as an enabler to growth.

Added to that, there are now countless success stories in the portfolio, from traditional businesses that have successfully adapted, to newer organisations that are leading the charge on decarbonisation.

There have been so many successes to-date, with learnings that we can embed as we turn our attention towards NPIF’s next generation.

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