THE NORTH EAST FUND

Promoter – Financial Intermediary

The North East Fund Limited

Location

• United Kingdom

Description

The North East Fund is an access-to-finance initiative of the seven local authorities of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP) area. It consists of a GBP 145m fund of funds that aims to support a wide range of firms at different points in their development: from early-stage businesses seeking seed financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in need of loans or equity funding to take advantage of growth opportunities. The fund mobilises European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF), as well as national grants, in addition to an EIB loan for a total of GBP 60m provided under the terms of the UK SME Financial Instruments Programme approved by the EIB in 2015. The North East Fund will be managed by The North East Fund Limited, a special purpose entity set up by the NELEP area local authorities and managed by the experienced executive team of North East Finance (Holdco) Limited.

Objectives

The North East Fund's objective is for the region to realise its potential and achieve economic growth through SMEs by attracting additional private sector funding and creating a sustainable ecosystem of high growth companies with the support network of funders and advisors they need. The objective is to be reached through loan and equity investments from the fund's capital to 600 SMEs and the provision of advisory support to 1,800 SMEs in total.

Sector(s)

• Credit lines - Credit lines

Proposed EIB finance (Approximate amount)

GBP 60 million (EUR 68 million)

Total cost (Approximate amount)

Not applicable.

Environmental aspects

Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.

Procurement

Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.

Status

Signed - 23/03/2018