Northern Powerhouse fund invests £30m in Lancashire businesses

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), delivered by British Business Bank, has hit a milestone after investing £30m in Lancashire Businesses.

Since the fund launched in 2017 more than £14m has been invested directly by NPIF with almost £19m leveraged from the private sector.

These investments have been made across 60 transactions to 57 small and medium sized businesses across the region, including equity, debt finance and microfinance loans that range from £25,000 to £2m.

Companies supported include Skelmersdale-based manufacturer of connected electrical solutions Extreme Low Energy (ELe), gaming artwork studio Airship Images of Lytham St Annes and Burnley-based door hardware manufacturer Loxta Hardware.

Steve Fogg, chair of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, said: “It is fantastic that nearly 60 of Lancashire's SMEs have taken advantage of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund to help grow or adapt their business through expansion or by capitalising on diversification opportunities.

"Lancashire has a strong heritage in identifying and applying innovative approaches to satisfy the needs of their markets. The resilience shown by some of our businesses during these extremely challenging times has been phenomenal and is attributable to a strong entrepreneurial and creative flair which is evident throughout the county."

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