The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), delivered by British Business Bank, has facilitated £30m of investment in the Liverpool City Region, over £15m of which has been invested directly by the Fund itself with the remainder leveraged from the private sector.
Launched in 2017, NPIF is designed to help small and medium sized businesses secure the funding they need for growth and development. It delivers equity finance, debt finance and microfinance, ranging from £25,000 to £2m.
The £30m invested to date has been across more than 80 transactions for 72 businesses in the region.
Recent investments include an equity funding package for RedWigWam, a temporary work booking platform. As part of its growth strategy, led by CEO Lorna Davidson, the Baltic Triangle-based business secured investment from NPIF – Maven Equity Finance to expand its marketing and PR activities, continue development of its platform, and increase staffing.
Liverpool Laser and Tube Ltd (LLT) have recently received a £50,000 investment as part of the jointly managed NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance. LLT is a new manufacturing company set up to establish a hi-tech manufacturing facility in Knowsley to meet the growing demand for laser cutting, metal forming and fabrication services.
The investment delivered by Alliance Fund Managers [AFM – MSIF’s fund manager subsidiary] has allowed LLT to grow the business as specialists in the industry by securing not only substantial premises to meet demand, but by procuring state-of-the-art equipment to deliver a top quality service to its customers.
Additionally, NPIF has been providing funding support for businesses in Liverpool City Region that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. General Trade Maintenance – which trades as GTM Property Maintenance – is a maintenance service provider to the social housing and care sector and had a healthy forecast of work scheduled for the year. However, after its supply chain suffered severe impact from the crisis, the company was forced to close. After receiving a £250,000 CBILS backed loan from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, the firm was able to reopen and bring furloughed staff back to work.
Asif Hamid MBE, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “The NPIF team have provided valuable support to our business community since the launch of the fund in 2017, and it is fantastic to see the impact it is having on unlocking business potential and creating jobs in the city region. It is also good to see NPIF providing funding support for businesses in the city region that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To continue this momentum, we are working closely with the Fund Managers and existing providers to ensure there is a simple joined up approach for business across the city region through Growth Platform and our local delivery partners.”
Ken Cooper, Managing Director at British Business Bank, said: “The business landscape in the Liverpool City Region has continued to improve in recent years and we are pleased to have been a part of that journey. Supporting 72 innovative businesses with over £30m of investment in the region is a testament to the effective collaboration between the British Business Bank, the Local Enterprise Partnership, the Growth Hub and other stakeholders in the region.
“We will continue to work closely with our Fund Managers and partners in the region as we maintain this momentum, providing vital support to businesses in Liverpool City Region.”
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.