£150 million fund targets Northern scale-ups

A new £150 million fund is set to provide larger-scale investment for high-growth businesses across the North of England.

The British Business Bank will commit up to £150 million to the proposed Northern scale-up fund, which is designed to help innovative companies secure capital to accelerate growth and expansion.

Investments of between £5 million and £15 million are expected to be made in businesses across the North, including university spinouts and other high-growth companies.

The fund will complement existing British Business Bank programmes, including the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II and Regional Angels Programme, while aiming to attract additional private capital.

Investment will reflect regional sector strengths including creative industries, clean energy, space and technology.

Businesses from Liverpool and Manchester through to Leeds, Sheffield, York, Hull and Newcastle are expected to be among those eligible for support.

The announcement forms part of the British Business Bank’s wider efforts to improve access to growth finance across the UK and comes alongside the launch of a separate £210 million South East Investment Fund.

Leandros Kalisperas, chief investment officer at British Business Bank, added: “This new Northern scale-up fund reflects the Bank’s commitment to addressing regional equity gaps and helping ambitious, innovative businesses in the North of England to have the same opportunity to access the capital they need to grow and thrive as other parts of the UK.

“The proposed fund would provide an important new source of scale-up capital building on the success of our Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, which continues to deliver support to smaller businesses of up to £5 million of capital.”

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