Major 2019 growth for North East and Yorkshire businesses with near-£300m investment

Investor BGF has experienced a year of growth across its Yorkshire and North East portfolio with £275m investment for 29 businesses.

£41m of the investment has been invested in the past 12 months. Operam Education Group, operating in the education recruitment sector, received BGF investment in March 2019. Since the deal, the funding has supported organic growth and three acquisitions.

Scarborough-headquartered bakery business Cooplands also saw sales top £50m for the first time in 2019, when it announced the appointment of Belinda Youngs as CEO. BGF has also recently expanded its investment team with the appointment of Sophie Isaacs.

Richard Taylor, head of BGF’s Yorkshire team, said: “Yorkshire is the largest county in the UK. It has scale; and the businesses we’ve backed this year and those in our portfolio in the region clearly demonstrate they all have the potential to scale as well.

“With an election behind us, entrepreneurs expect to feel more clarity into 2020. This will unleash opportunities for dealmaking in the region - whether that’s new investments or businesses making acquisitions so we’re looking forward to further growth in the first half of the year.

“Our role is to provide long-term, flexible capital and support for businesses based in the region and we’ll continue to invest across a range of sectors, from ecommerce to recruitment and manufacturing.

“There are entrepreneurial businesses that stretch from the coast to the moorlands, whether it’s in Leeds, Sheffield, Hull or Scarborough - there’s a wealth of opportunity within the region.”

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