Trio to spearhead investment of Tees Valley Catalyst Fund

FW Capital, the company which manages the Tees Valley Catalyst Fund has appointed a team of three to spearhead its investment operations in the Tees Valley.

Launched by Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU) at the end of June, the £10 million Catalyst Fund provides Tees Valley businesses with short-term finance to fund performance and warranty bonds.

It is anticipated that it will unlock almost £700 million of additional work and support approximately 1,440 jobs in Tees Valley over the next ten years.

FW Capital’s Fund Manager, Joanne Pratt has recruited investment executives, Nicky Atkinson and Chris Johnson to make investments from the government-backed fund. The team will be based at FW Capital’s new Tees Valley office in Billingham.

Atkinson has joined FW Capital from HSBC where she spent over thirty years in a variety of roles, including managing a 120-strong portfolio of business customers.

With over 12 years’ corporate banking experience, Johnson’s career has included roles with Barclays, Yorkshire Bank and Allied Irish Bank.

Welcoming the new team, Joanne Pratt said: “FW Capital is pleased to be managing the innovative new Tees Valley Catalyst Fund which has the potential to make a significant impact in the Tees Valley. It’s been specifically created to provide local businesses with the financial backing they need to win new contracts.

“We’ve received significant interest in the Fund since its launch and our Tees Valley team is already working on an interesting pipeline of proposals. The team is locally based at our new Billingham office and keen to work with Tees Valley businesses and their advisers.”

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) as well as larger businesses based in Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees can apply for short-term finance of between £100,000 and £2 million to fund performance and warranty bonds.

Stephen Catchpole, managing director at Tees Valley Unlimited welcomed the new team adding, “One of the key remits of TVU is to overcome the obstacles that restrict the development of our local companies. The Tees Valley Catalyst Fund is a prime example of how we are working to identify unique and innovative schemes that proactively help firms to grow and create new jobs. We look forward to the team at FW Capital helping the fund to meet its exciting potential.”

Returns from the ‘evergreen’ fund will be ploughed back into providing new loans.

Businesses wishing to apply for funding should contact Chris Johnson on 01642 343 495 or Nicky Atkinson on 01642 343 494 or visit www.fwcapital.co.uk/catalystfund

FW Capital has also been managing the North East Growth Plus Fund in the North East since 2010 and the Catalyst Fund increases its presence in the North East. The North East Growth Plus Fund backs established small and medium-sized businesses throughout the North East with growth capital investments from £350,000 to £1.25 million. For more information on this fund visitwww.fwcapital.co.uk