Barclays launches £500m Powerhouse fund for SMEs

A new £500m growth fund has been made available to SMEs in the north as part of Barclays commitment to the Northern Powerhouse.

The project includes up to £250,000 overdraft without the need for property security, fee-free term lending up to £25,000, cash flow funding and debt support.

The new fund is now available, offering favourable terms for manufacturing, transport and logistics companies, helping them to grow and create new jobs.

Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, said: “Barclays has been helping businesses across the North to succeed since we financed the world’s first steam locomotive passenger railway between Stockton and Darlington. Today, we face new economic challenges and opportunities posed by the digital revolution, the growth in competition from emerging markets, and of course, Brexit.

“The Northern Powerhouse is an initiative which, if delivered, would help the whole country to meet that challenge and take those economic opportunities. As the UK prepares for Brexit, it’s vitally important that businesses, civic leaders and government work together to make the Northern Powerhouse a reality. That means supporting entrepreneurs and businesses to succeed, but it also means providing more ways into high quality work.”

Northern Powerhouse Partnership vice-chair Lord Jim O’Neill said: “I have consistently said that for the Northern Powerhouse to be a success and deliver a more balanced economy for the whole of the UK requires the support and vision of the North’s leading businesses.

“This major fund from Barclays will significantly increase the potential of our SMEs across the Northern Powerhouse to embrace the next Industrial Revolution, incorporating innovation such as robotics and AI into everything they do. “There is real momentum growing in the Northern Powerhouse, and I hope the commitment Barclays and their CEO Jes Staley have demonstrated will be matched by our political leaders in Whitehall so the Northern Powerhouse can truly fulfil its potential.”