North East Fund: Further fund managers announced

Following on from the announcement from NEL regarding the Growth Capital Fund and Small loan fund, the other fund managers for the North East Fund (JEREMIE 2) have now been announced.

The remaining funds are broken down into the following:

Innovation Fund

This fund is managed by Northstar Ventures. It looks for strong management teams with scalable opportunities and is able to invest up to £500,000 in the form of loan or equity funding.

Eligibility

The fund is targeted at innovative businesses and is not sector specific; it is open to ideas and businesses from any sector.

The other factors considered include:

• Deep sector knowledge
• Market focused business ideas
• Ambitious entrepreneurs
• Scalable businesses
• Vision and ambition to go global

Development Capital Fund

This fund is managed by Maven Capital Partners. It is able to invest from £400,000 to £2 million to support established businesses via debt finance, mezzanine loans or equity investment to help them fulfil growth potential. It targets companies with strong management teams and ambitious growth plans.

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding a business:

• Must have a material part or intend to have a material part of their operations or trading within the seven local authority areas of Northumberland, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham.
• Must meet several funding criteria including having fewer than 250 full-time employees and a turnover of less than £42 million per annum.

Funding is available for both start-ups and established businesses and is not targeted on any specific sectors. There are restrictions which prohibit funding in sectors including pure real estate development, gambling related services & equipment and a variety of other specific exclusions.

Venture Fund

This fund is managed by Mercia Fund Managers. It is able to invest up to £1m at any stage in the business life cycle but is specifically looking for innovative businesses and those developing disruptive business models. Funding is available to businesses with high growth potential and also pre-start businesses.