New £210m South East Investment Fund launched to help small to medium businesses grow in the region
Hampshire & Isle of Wight businesses to benefit from new investment fund
A new £210 million fund has been created to help drive growth in the South-East by supporting small to medium sized businesses.
The South East Investment Fund is being launched by the British Business Bank and will give businesses in Hampshire the chance to apply for loans between £25,000 and £2 million. It will also offer equity investments of up to £5 million as it aims to support innovation, create jobs and stimulate sustained economic growth in the region.
David Hourican, Incoming Interim Chief Executive Officer of the British Business Bank, said: “Today’s launch of The South East England Investment Fund will help to stimulate economic growth throughout the region. The South East of England is home to some of the UK’s most innovative technological and scientific businesses and this fund will ensure that business have local access to the finance they need to grow, scale and expand.”
The new fund will cover Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Sussex, Surrey and Kent. According to British Business Bank, the South East is home to 17 per cent of the UK’s university spinout businesses, behind only London, while the region received 5 per cent of the UK’s total equity investment by value last year.
The initiative supports the government’s plan for growth in every postcode by helping businesses access finance closer to home.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “Small businesses are the bedrock of our economy and a vital part of any high street, whether it’s a tech startup in Surrey or a creative agency in Margate. Making sure that smaller businesses have the backing they need to thrive is a crucial part of creating good growth in every postcode.
“We are determined not to let access to investment be a barrier to success for businesses in the South East. The launch of this fund will help to ensure that small businesses across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight can grow to match their ambitions, whether that is bringing in new staff, moving into a new base or scaling into an international company.”
The South East Investment Fund will be managed by a team of fund managers appointed by the British Business Bank including The FSE Group and Maven Capital Partners. The FSE Group will manage the debt finance part of the fund while Maven Capital Partners will manage equity investment through the fund.