Northern small businesses continue to benefit from NPIF

Despite the economic uncertainty brought by the coronavirus, The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) has continued to support small businesses across the region.

Since the beginning of 2020, the £400 million fund has completed 61 deals, providing over £14 million of investment.

The NPIF, which provides a mix of debt, equity and microfinance up to £2m, has continued to invest in small businesses across Northern England and is still very much open for business

NPIF’s Microfinance fund managers which include GC Business Finance, MSIF, Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) and Finance For Enterprise are all accredited lenders of the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) with a number of loans already being approved.

Since its launch in March 2017, fund managers have invested over £162 million into 601 businesses, bringing in an additional £167 million from the private sector.

The sectors seeing the most impact from NPIF are manufacturing, tech, digital, creative and life sciences.

Ken Cooper, Managing Director at British Business Bank, said:

Small businesses are facing unprecedented economic circumstances, so it is great to see that our fund is stepping up to the challenge of supporting them during this difficult time.  We have been impressed by the response from all of our Fund Managers who are working hard to ensure local businesses can access vital funding, including from the CBILS, whilst also helping those companies that have already had NPIF funding.

“Although we’re now in a very different business environment, NPIF remains open for business, and will continue to make investments.”   

The NPIF was launched in 2017 by the British Business Bank using funding from the European Regional Development Fund, HM Government and the European Investment Bank. The fund forms a key part of the British Business Banks’ objective to help reduce regional funding disparities and encourage economic prosperity in the North of England. 

NPIF works with 10 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), Combined Authorities and fund managers to provide microfinance, debt and equity finance to businesses across the North West, Yorkshire and Humber and Tees Valley regions.

The funding options include microfinance between £25,000 and £100,000, debt finance between £100,000 and £750,000 and equity finance up to £2m. 

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank. 

Image: L-R: Ken Cooper, Managing Director at British Business Bank with Roger Marsh, OBE DL, Chairman of NPIF Strategic Oversight Board, Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Chair of the NP11.  The photo was taken before social distancing measures came into operation.