Reject rejection: alternative finance can support your business

Having already invested over £44m into growing businesses across Yorkshire & Humber, Mark Wilcockson, Senior Manager at British Business Bank, discusses the impact that the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) has had on the region and how the finance provider plans to continue its support:

In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for small businesses to obtain funding though traditional means, with banks becoming more reluctant to lend to such organisations. In response, alternative finance providers have emerged in order to serve ambitious SMEs across the country. The lenders have become more established and accessible for smaller businesses, acting as a viable alternative to traditional lending.

Since its launch by British Business Bank in February 2017, NPIF has delivered a variety of finance options, including equity finance, debt finance, and microfinance solutions, ranging in size from £25,000 to £2m to businesses across the 10 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) that make up the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund area.

So far, NPIF has invested a total of £44m in ambitious, growing SMEs across the Yorkshire & Humber region. The Fund has made 201 investments across the area, within a range of sectors including information and communications technology which received £12.8m and the manufacturing sector which received £10.5m.

NPIF’s investment into Yorkshire-based businesses has so far been significant, providing funding to enable organisations to recruit new staff, launch new products and services or acquire new premises. We are proud to have offered over 200 SMEs an alternative to traditional finance and we will continue to invest across the region in order to unlock the North’s growth potential.

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.

For more information about Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, please visit www.npif.co.uk.