North East England led the way in setting up public sector investment funds to support local SMEs. North East Access to Finance oversees the ‘legacy’ returns from these funds. To date, over £25m of legacy cash has been generated to re-invest in new ventures and growth businesses.

We work with the Local Enterprise Partnerships and other funders to re-invest these returns and to secure match funding. We have also commissioned research to ensure that the funds are targeted appropriately.

The recently launched North East Fund is a set of publicly-backed venture capital and loan funds operating in the North East Local Enterprise Partnership Area. There are five individual sub-funds, each managed by an FCA authorised fund manager. Between 2018 and 2023, they will allocate around £120m of capital. The fund is delivered by an Implementing Body, made up of experienced personnel based in the North East. More details can be found here.

Tees Valley Combined Authority participates in the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. Details of this can be found here.

For business support advice, please call the helpline on 0300 456 3565 or use the online search facility at www.gov.uk/business-finance-support.