NPIF and Maven to support growth SMEs across Northern England

Maven has been appointed to manage the £57.5 million NPIF Maven Equity Finance fund, focused on providing equity funding to high-potential businesses primarily across Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Cumbria and Cheshire but also able to support SMEs in Yorkshire & Humber and Tees Valley. 

The NPIF of over £400 million, was announced by the Government in 2015 as a partnership between the BBB, a number of Northern England LEPs, the European Investment Bank and the European Regional Development Fund. The Fund will target businesses with an operational trading base in the region, providing funding of between £50,000 and £2 million to each SME, in the form of equity investments or mezzanine loans. Whilst there is no specific sector bias, the Fund is prohibited from lending in respect of certain sectoral activities.

It is clear that many viable, dynamic regionally based SMEs, with innovative products and services, strong business plans and highly capable management teams, are struggling to access the funding that will allow them to develop their businesses and market offering. The NPIF is looking to address that situation, with a particular focus on supporting the growth aspirations of high-potential SMEs that can contribute to regional economic development, job creation and innovation. The Fund’s objective is to produce greater levels of investment in smaller businesses, and increased flexibility in the type of funding available to those businesses.

Maven has been one of the UK’s most active SME investors since 2004, on behalf of a range of client funds. With a long-established team already operating across the NPIF region from a Manchester base, and a number of new investment executive appointments currently in process, Maven’s team is well resourced to provide the necessary support to NPIF portfolio companies, both in terms of the initial investment process and the ongoing support as those businesses grow.  

“As one of the UK’s most experienced and active private equity fund managers, and with many years’ experience of investing in and supporting SMEs across the North of England, the team at Maven is delighted to be working with the British Business Bank to deliver the objectives of the NPIF. The North has historically been a key driver of UK economic growth and a hotbed for innovative smaller businesses, and there remains a clear need for this type of funding to help high-growth Northern SMEs fulfil their potential. Our investment team is very much looking forward to working in partnership alongside the region’s SMEs.”

Ryan Bevington, Fund Manager for NPIF Maven Equity Finance

If your business is in need of finance to help unlock its growth potential, NPIF Maven Equity Finance may be able to help. Contact Maven’s local team today on 0161 233 3500.