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Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II – Newcastle Roadshow

Press release 16 May 2024

  • Over 1250 businesses express interest in accessing new £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II

Over 1250 businesses have expressed their interest in accessing the new £660m The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II), according to its appointed regional fund managers. This includes expressions of interest from 290 businesses across the North East.

Unveiled by the British Business Bank in March this year, the Fund aims to increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for small businesses looking to start up and scale up across the region.

Delivered in the North East by NEL Fund Managers and Maven Capital Partners, the Fund will now operate across the whole of the region. This includes Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees, South Teesside, Darlington, Durham, Northumberland, Tyneside and Sunderland.

Since its official launch, intermediaries and potential investees recently attended a series of regional Roadshow events which kicked off in Newcastle, at St. James’s Park. The event gave attendees further information about the Fund, including how to apply and an explanation of finance options available in the region.

NEL Fund Managers will provide businesses in the North East both smaller loans from £25,000 to £100,000, and debt finance options from £100,000 to £2 million. Maven Capital Partners will provide equity investments up to £5 million.

The British Business Bank, along with all fund managers, will continue to host roadshow events in Liverpool, Tees Valley, Lancashire and Hull until June, with further dates soon to be announced for York, Northumberland, Chester, Durham and Cumbria. This underscores the Bank’s commitment to levelling up finance opportunities from coast to countryside, extending beyond the larger cities.  

Attendees of the Newcastle roadshow event shared their thoughts:

Sarah Newbould, Senior Manager, British Business Bank, said:

The Newcastle roadshow had an excellent turnout, and it’s promising to see such a vast number of enquiries. This reflects the appetite that people have to grow their business here in the North East, and it’s great that NPIF II is now able to cover the entire region. We’re really excited that the new fund will have a presence across the whole of the North East, bringing much needed capital to support innovative and exciting entrepreneurs in the region.

Shona Duncan, Head of Business Solutions, Tees Valley Combined Authority, said:

Businesses in our region have accessed a huge amount of business support in recent years, but there is a gap in funding. NPIF II gives us an opportunity to support our local businesses to grow even more, to develop their workforce even further, and to create sustainable solutions. This means that they can be absolutely first and foremost in a position to benefit from the opportunities from the new inward investment that has taken place, particularly around clean energy in Tees Valley.

Rick McCordall, Head of Company Creation, Newcastle University, said:

Newcastle University, and all of the universities across the North East, have a significant responsibility to contribute to entrepreneurialism here in the region. Working with the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and other funders, we can really start to see a difference in terms of the ecosystem. At the university, we’ve created 38 spin outs with close to 350 employees as a result of these, and we want to see that continue to grow – NPIF II will act as a catalyst for achieving that.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is part of a series of six new Nations and Regions Investment Funds being launched by the British Business Bank, the government-owned business development bank. A total of £1.6 billion has been committed to the new funds to drive sustainable economic growth, which was first announced by the government in the 2021 Spending Review.

NPIF is managed by a team of eight fund managers that have been appointed by the British Business Bank including Mercia, FW Capital, Praetura, Maven Equity Partners, NEL Fund Managers, GC Business Finance & River Capital, Business Enterprise Fund (BEF).

Applications for funding are made directly to the relevant fund managers who can be contacted via the  British Business Bank website.  

Further Information

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact [email protected].

Notes to editors

About the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II

  • Operated by the British Business Bank, the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) provides a mix of debt and equity funding.  NPIF II will offer a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and Growth Hubs, as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support the North’s smaller businesses at all stages of their development. 
  • The funds in which the NPIF II invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, City of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees, South Teesside, Darlington, Durham, Northumberland, Tyneside, Sunderland.

For investment by NPIF II sub-fund at the investee company level

  • The investment from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II into [.] does not amount to any endorsement or warranty from Nations and Regions Investments Limited, the British Business Bank plc or the government of the United Kingdom.

Smaller Loans from £25,000 to £100,000 – GC Business Finance & River Capital (North West), Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) (Yorkshire and Humber) and NEL Fund Managers (North East).

Business Loans from £100,000 to £2m – FW Capital (North West), Mercia (Yorkshire and Humber) and NEL Fund Managers (North East).

Equity Finance up to £5m  – Praetura Ventures (North West), Mercia (Yorkshire and Humber), and Maven Capital Partners (North East).

Applications for funding are made directly to the relevant fund managers who can be contacted via the NPIF II webpage northernpowerhouseinvestmentfund.co.uk.

Following the successful five-year span of its predecessor, Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) launched on the 21st March 2024.

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