Member Article

North East Growth Fund sees 'unprecedented' interest following funding extension

NEL Fund Managers, who manage the Finance For Business North East Growth Fund, have experienced a surge of interest from North East businesses following the announcement that the fund would be extended in April.

The fund management firm say they have received over 100 enquiries in the last three months, a 500% increase, after the announcement of the £4m extension to the fund which is targeted at North East businesses in the development or growth stage.

In particular, NEL say there has been a noticeable uptick in the amount of enquiries from health and lifestyle businesses while a significant number have come from businesses who have not previously approached the firm for investment support.

Commenting on the recent surge, Yvonne Gale, Chief Executive at NEL, said: “There’s never any shortage of investment enquiries and business plans coming across our desks, but the last three months has been unprecedented - we’d usually expect to get around six to eight serious enquiries every month, but since the Growth Fund extension was announced, the phone’s never stopped.

“It’s especially encouraging to see companies choosing to take control of their own futures by looking for the investment they need to expand, and it perhaps suggests that there’s a greater degree of confidence in our business community than recent reports have suggested.”

NEL are hoping to make 15 investments between £50,000 and £400k from the fund this year, with a particular focus on regional firm’s wh have plans to expand.

However, such has been the demand, Yvonne believes this year’s fund could be significantly oversubscribed.

She added: “We’re now working through the applications we’ve received, and are referring that aren’t quite investment ready on to professional advisors across the region who will help bring them up to scratch.

“The indications are that we will be oversubscribed for Growth Fund investments before the end of the year, and we would strongly urge any regional business owners who are considering going down this route to compile their business plans as soon as possible.”

Since the fund was launched in 2010, NEL have invested over £25m in the region’s startups and growing businesses.