£10m Leeds City Region construction fund launched

A new £10m fund to support major construction projects has been launched by the Leeds City Region Partnership .

The fund will target large scale asset based construction projects with a minimum investment level of £1m and is made up of contributions from Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Kirkless, York, Harrogate and Calderdale authorities.

Expressions of interest are now welcome from commercially viable projects that could take advantage of short term debt finance.

Cllr Peter Box, chair of the Leeds City Region Leaders Board explains: “We are very excited to launch the first £10 million of our Revolving Investment Fund. What we are looking for through the Fund is to create an avenue for developers and business in the region to work together with the public sector to fill gaps in funding and boost development, jobs and growth.”

“This is a call to all investors to come forward with their schemes and see how we can help take them forward.”

The Partnership is looking to develop a long term revolving and sustainable mechanism that could offer up to £400 million in support of growth and development across the wider economy.

Roger Marsh, chair of the Leeds City Region LEP, added: “Following funds made available by the Partnership the previous year, through the Growing Places and Regional Growth Funds, we continue to work collaboratively to develop targeted game changing support and help address some major market failures.”

“Our ultimate goal is to support our key businesses to create and sustain jobs in the wider area. We are constantly looking for new ways to achieve these goals and we are now calling all partners across the city region to join these efforts, come forward with projects and ideas and help us support sustainably our economy.”

Funds will be offered to projects that support the Partnership’s economic objectives, and in particular will create jobs and support the growth of the Leeds City Region economy.

The RIF will work alongside the Partnership’s other funding mechanisms as part of a wider framework to support targeted investment across the city region in order to maximise growth and jobs creation.

For more information on how to access the fund visit the Leeds City Region site here.