Partnership with Growth Specialists is key to business finance success

Businesses across South Yorkshire are already taking advantage of money available through Finance Yorkshire.

The Fund can offer seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2million to help small and medium businesses meet the gaps in funding they need for growth and development. Seedcorn finance is available up to £780,000, business loans of up to £150,000 and equity-linked finance can be accessed in the £100,000 to £2m range.

Alex McWhirter is chief executive of Finance Yorkshire and he outlines how important the Fund is to businesses to achieve their growth ambitions.

He said: “We have already provided a clear indication of how the Fund can play a key role in boosting economic growth in this region with the investments made in businesses since the launch of Finance Yorkshire last year.

“With £90million available to be invested over the next four years, the Fund is a real boost for many small and medium sized enterprises across Yorkshire and the Humber. We aim to create and safeguard almost 6,000 jobs and develop £602million of gross value added for Yorkshire’s economy.

“A crucial component in this will be the support we receive from intermediaries such as accountants, business advisers and banks. I want to see Finance Yorkshire become a key partner with these ‘growth gurus’ working alongside them to identify potential businesses which need financial support to achieve their ambitions.

“These partnerships proved successful with the previous funds including South Yorkshire Investment Fund and will be crucial in giving the financial market some much needed stimulation.

“Working closely with the banks our hope is to co-fund in some cases to help meet the gap in finance. This will open more doors for businesses, banks and Finance Yorkshire, giving the market a huge kick-start.

“The creation of the Local Enterprise Partnership in South Yorkshire with leaders from the business community having a stronger say in the development of the local economy will address the reduction in public funded business support.

“It is vital that this new beginning creates an environment of collaboration and Finance Yorkshire intends to be a pivotal role in that partnership by investing in key sectors such as advanced manufacturing, creative and digital, healthcare and local carbon industry.”

Finance Yorkshire 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 Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or ring 0845 649 0000.

Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire