More than £5 million has been invested in local businesses with the support of the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF) in its first full year of operation.

The figures, revealed at the Cornwall Festival of Business in Truro at the end of October, show that the fund has so far supported 13 local businesses with £2.9 million of investment and attracted a further £2.2 million of private-sector investment.

The fund has backed companies in a range of sectors, including manufacturing, digital technology and communications, boat-building and events.

Its first investment was a £750,000 equity deal with Wildanet — an independent provider of super-fast Internet services — which plans to create around 40 jobs over three years.

The most recent deal was an £850,000 loan to shipping-container conversion business ISO Spaces, creating 20 jobs.

CIOSIF (www.ciosif.co.uk) was launched by the British Business Bank last year — in partnership with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the European Regional Development Fund and the UK Government — to help local businesses grow and create jobs.

Ken Cooper — managing director of Venture Solutions at the British Business Bank — said: “Helping to create a more iverse finance market and reversing regional imbalances is a key objective of the British Business Bank.

"We’re delighted to see such a diverse range of businesses taking advantage of the availability of this investment in the first year of the fund.”