Member Article

JEREMIE will support businesses long after initial investment

A £125M ‘superfund’, announced last month by Regional Development Agency One North East (ONE), is the first of its kind in England. It is anticipated to create more than 5,000 jobs and support 850 firms, and will be monitored by a “talented” team of financiers.

The Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises Initiative, or JEREMIE fund, has £62.5m worth of backing from ONE and is matched by £62.5m from the European Investment Fund (EIF).

bdaily interviewed Malcolm Page, the deputy chief executive at ONE, who is hopeful the select team of financiers overseeing the pot will not only carefully invest the money, but ensure funds will come back to the region, enabling the support to go on long after the £125m is spent.

“The new board will appoint highly credible fund managers with strong track records who will deliver vital support for growing North East small firms and deliver returns on investments for the region.” said Mr Page in an earlier statement.

“JEREMIE allows far greater flexibility than in the past to be able to support companies at key stages of their evolution.”

Any return on investment will go back into the JEREMIE fund, enabling continued investment in the region, and will be spread across three specific areas: new start-ups, technology-based businesses and growing smaller businesses.

Robert Drummond, chairman of the Investment Advisory Board, who will monitor the fund, believes this is the ideal time to start investing in new businesses.

He said: “This point in the economic cycle is an excellent time to start a business. If you have the right skills and good business plan and can find the right investor then the advantages of lower costs, realistic expectations and less aggressive competition will ensure success.

“I am excited that the JEREMIE funds will be used in this way to help many young and small companies prosper and deliver good returns to the investors too.”

The fund is due to start in January, at a time when other initiatives come to an end, and will “simplify the North East public sector investment funds landscape”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .