Northern powerhouse

NPIF is a collaboration between the British Business Bank and ten Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in the North West, Yorkshire, the Humber and Tees Valley. They offer commercial finance through three types of product funds: Microfinance, Debt Finance and Equity Finance.

Supported by the European Regional Development Fund, NPIF is an initiative launched by the government-owned British Business Bank.

It is a key part of the Government’s ‘Northern Powerhouse’ vision, which aims to help reduce the North/South divide and create economic prosperity in the North of England on a par with London and the South East.

The Government firmly believes that smaller businesses (SMEs) form the foundation of the region’s future growth. NPIF therefore aims to nurture regional entrepreneurship by providing investment and support for SMEs between 2016 and 2021. NPIF's funding will support new and growing SMEs, create jobs and encourage and attract additional private-sector investment.

Delivered by the British Business Bank, NPIF aims to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the North, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by supporting access to finance for smaller businesses.

Applicant type

- Recent start-ups and existing SME businesses seeking to borrow £25k - £100k to kickstart activity,

- SMEs needing to borrow larger amounts to finance growth,

- SMEs with ambitious growth plans seeking an equity injection of up to £2m.

Investment

NPIF provides commercial finance through three types of product funds: microfinance, debt finance and equity finance. These funds provide funding options (over £500m of investment to boost small and medium business (SME) growth in the North of England) that are designed to plug common gaps in the provision of finance, giving your business access to the funding it needs to help it grow. Their fundind ranges from £25K to £2M:

- Microfinance: £25K to £100K,

- Debt finance: £100K to £750K,

- Equity finance: £50K to £2M.

Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund has raised a total of £400M in a single venture fund, Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund I. This fund was announced on Feb 22, 2017 and raised a total of £400M.

Portfolio: Abingdon Health, Airship, App learn, Arquella.