Mercia Debt – which manages part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) – has marked a key milestone, having provided over £5m in debt finance since the launch of the fund earlier this year.
Mercia has provided a total of £5.5m in business loans to 17 companies covering a wide range of sectors, with the majority based in Yorkshire and Humber.
They include Change Accountants in York, Thornton Park Farm near Sowerby Bridge which is setting up a glamping site, Ilkley-based Talk Straight which provides broadband and cloud services to schools, Leeds cybersecurity firm Xentra, Lab Systems Furniture of Hull and Birkenhead-based energy and environmental consultancy Inteb.
Pete Sorsby, Fund Principal at Mercia Debt, said the new fund had generated strong interest from the business and advisory community, with many more deals in the pipeline. “Debt funding plays a critical role in supporting business growth,” he said. “Our mission is to help SMEs in the North to access the finance they need, particularly those that might otherwise not receive it.
“Mercia provided over £77m in debt funding to almost 300 companies through the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF I) which resulted in some fantastic growth stories. The latest fund builds on the success of NPIF I, however the maximum loan amount has increased to £2m and the fund has additional flexibility which enables us to support a wider range of business sectors.
“We have also worked hard to build our networks and extend our reach into different areas and communities to make them aware of the funding available. As a result we are already seeing a more diverse mix in terms of the type of businesses, founders and locations. We are looking forward to working with them as they build their business and to speaking with other ambitious entrepreneurs seeking funding for growth.”
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