UK Steel hits £17 million investment milestone

UK Steel Enterprise Ltd, one of the country’s longest-standing business-support organisations, is celebrating the completion of its 6000th investment into a UK business.

The Tata Steel subsidiary that supports new and growing businesses in steel areas with finance and premises was set up nearly 40 years ago and its Northern region team operates in Tees Valley, Derwentside and West Cumbria.

In total UK Steel Enterprise has now invested more than £17 million into businesses in the Northern region with a further £12 million ploughed into building and developing Innovation Centres at Hartlepool and Redcar, providing top-quality managed business premises for around 80 young businesses. It has helped to create more than 16,000 jobs.

Since 1975, companies including Derwent Valley Foods, CAV Aerospace and Pinnacle Re-Tec in Consett; R S Industrial Services in Billingham, Icon Plastics in Stockton-on-Tees, Hutchinson Technical Services in Middlesbrough and Hart Biologicals, J & B Recycling and Brickwork Services Ltd in Hartlepool have been helped to grow and create much-needed jobs for the region.

The financial loan and equity packages of up to £750,000 available from UK Steel Enterprise can now also include grant support from its Access to Finance Scheme, set up recently with backing from the government’s Regional Growth Fund.

A Regeneration Fund helps small start-up businesses access the few thousand pounds that can be vital to getting a new business under way and UKSE’s special Community Support Fund provides grants to a whole range of projects that help young people, the unemployed and disadvantaged who are living in steel areas.

Nationally UKSE has invested more than £80m of true risk capital into businesses and the 6000th milestone investment went to Lincolnshire-based Abbeydale Food Group, a company that, within a short space of time, has achieved annual sales approaching £10m and created 150 jobs.

Peter Taylor, area manager for UK Steel Enterprise in the Northern region, said: ““With regeneration and job creation as our aim it means that we can often provide the type of finance that businesses find difficult to access. It is really gratifying to see that, over the years, UKSE has been there to help companies that have gone on to become household names.

“As one of the longest-standing business support organisations in the UK we benefit from a wealth of national expertise so can provide independent advice and we have strong teams based in each steel area that understand their local businesses and the challenges they face. One of our aims is to keep the whole process as simple and speedy as possible.”

Details of UK Steel Enterprise’s support for businesses from 01642 777 777 and atwww.uksteelenterprise.co.uk.