Finance Yorkshire announces dedicated investment teams
The new business growth fund, Finance Yorkshire, has announced the investment teams across Yorkshire and the Humber.
The £90 million fund has three investment teams, Seedcorn Finance, Business Loans and Equity Linked Investments. The investment teams appraise the applications from businesses as well as liaising and working with other intermediaries in the market.
James Newman, Finance Yorkshire chairman, said: ”Applying for funding can be a daunting process, especially for small businesses that are only just finding their feet.
“Our investment managers will work closely with businesses throughout the application process, either directly or through an intermediary.”
With a team comprising of Ed French, Michael Bakewell and Ashwin Kumaraswamy, the Seedcorn fund offers early stage, knowledge and technology start-up businesses investments of up to £780,000.
Ed French, Seedcorn fund manager, said: “In addition to the investment, seedcorn investee companies will receive intensive ongoing support from their allocated investment manager, who will attend most board meetings and provide help and support on strategy, planning, recruitment, IP, fundraising and exit.”
Finance Yorkshire’s Business Loans team is split across the region with Grahame Lunt and Jonathan Craig primarily responsible for West Yorkshire and the North, Ian Atkinson taking charge of East Yorkshire (including the Humber, North & N/E Lincolnshire) and Karl Hodson and Ian Howson covering South Yorkshire.
Karl Hodson, investment manager, said: “By having regionally-based investment managers, companies can take advantage of funding available on their doorstep.
“The Business Loans fund offers loans to complete financial packages, so it’s crucial that we are on the ground and able to easily liaise with both the company and other lenders.”
Leading the equity team is Craig Hopwood, who has extensive experience in private equity, banking and corporate finance.
Craig said: “The equity team has been established to try to help SMEs to achieve their business expansion plans.
“By offering these companies equity linked investments from £100k to £2m and working closely with the region’s institutional funds, banks and advisors, we can support activities such as growth capital, capital expenditure or relocation to the Yorkshire and Humber region.”
Finance Yorkshire has recently announced its first investments and has been hailed as a key player in the region’s economic recovery.
The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £30million investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, £15million from Yorkshire Forward’s Single Programme, and £45million match funding from the European Investment Bank.
For more information about applying for funding, call 0845 649 000 or visit www.finance-yorkshire.com
Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire