The North East Fund has reached a major milestone, with £10 million of investment allocated to businesses in the region.
This is the result of more than 80 SMEs in Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Northumberland and Durham — plus North and South Tyneside — receiving sums ranging from £10,000 to £2 million to start or grow a business.
Operating in a wide range of sectors, companies such as Durham-based Ronco Engineering have benefitted in recent months and are now using the funding to create new jobs, invest in R&D and equipment, and increase their production levels.
The latest company to receive funding — and take the fund’s total investment beyond the £10 million mark — is Trench Networks, which has created a device to supply super-fast broadband to remote working environments.
Dawn Dunn, marketing manager at the North East Fund (
www.northeastfund.org), said: “This milestone is a significant indicator that we are on target to meet the demands of businesses in the region.
“We would encourage SMEs of all sizes to get in touch and find out how to access investment for the next stage of their development.
“£10 million is the first rung on the ladder to delivering a much larger pot of investment for the
region.”
Backed by the European Investment Bank, the North East Fund aims to help about 600 SMEs to grow, create about 2,500 jobs and generate a return on the investment that can be put back into the regional economy.