BGF: £238m invested in Yorkshire and North East businesses

BGF (formerly the Business Growth Fund) has announced it has committed £238m to companies across the North East and Yorkshire since 2011.

The news came as part of the national firm’s announcement that it has committed £2bn into SMEs across the UK and Ireland in the past eight years.

BGF has invested more than £238m of initial and follow-on investments across 23 businesses in the North East and Yorkshire region.

Recent investments in the North include South Yorkshire-based education recruitment specialists Operam Education Group, West Yorkshire-based business vehicle rental platform Fleetondemand and North East behavioural marketing company SaleCycle.

In addition, BGF has also made several successful exits including North-East-headquartered Wear Inns when the business was acquired by Aprirose, a specialist UK real estate investor.

Richard Taylor, BGF investor and head of the Leeds office, commented: “We’ve held an ongoing commitment to be regionally-focussed which is evidenced through our diverse portfolio, investor network and offices.

“It’s encouraging to see the investment which takes BGF across the £2bn mark based here in the North and despite the Brexit uncertainty, the growth ambitions held by business owners based in our region is clear.

“We’re looking forward to seeing more entrepreneurs use BGF’s funding to scale up their business, driving economic activity, employment, exports and growth.”