Representatives from the British Business Bank, Mercia Asset Management and Tribosonics welcomed The Lord Mayor of the City of London, William Russell, last Thursday, to discuss the impact of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) in supporting businesses across the region.
Hosted at Bruntwood’s Platform, just metres away from Leeds City Station, the team discussed the work already being done by NPIF and its accredited fund managers, as well as the impact it is having directly on the region’s businesses.
Representatives from the British Business Bank included Director Grant Peggie, Senior Manager Melanie Ellyard and UK Network Director Dr Sophie Dale-Black. From Mercia, Will Clark, Managing Director of Regional Venture Funds and Investment Director William Schaffer attended the meeting, whilst Glenn Fletcher, CEO at Tribosonics was present as a representative from the Yorkshire-based NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance investee business.
Leeds is one of the largest business centres in the United Kingdom and around a quarter of a million people are employed in the financial and professional sector in the Leeds City Region with an output valued at £13 billion per year. Since launching in 2017, NPIF has directly invested £66m into the city region, through 291 transactions with an additional £65m co-invested from the private sector.
With Channel 4, the National Infrastructure Bank, Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) all setting up offices in the city, Leeds City Region is realising record levels of inward investment, helping it to realise much of its pent-up potential.
Lord Mayor of the City of London, William Russell, said: “Leeds is one of the biggest centres for financial and professional services outside of London, so it makes perfect sense that it is a priority visit as we seek to deepen our partnerships with financial hubs across the UK. I’m also excited to be visiting Sheffield to discuss the city’s strategic economic plan, focusing on growth, inclusion and sustainability, as well as new opportunities being unlocked with the arrival of HS2. Partnership between Yorkshire and the City can help to drive forward the UK’s economic recovery.”
Grant Peggie at the British Business Bank, said: “It has been a great pleasure to welcome the Lord Mayor to Leeds and share the fantastic progress that has been made here by the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) and the great innovative businesses we are backing not only in Leeds and Sheffield, but across the North . We discussed our future ambition for the region and the importance of supporting low carbon investment across the North and the wider country. We are keen to maximise the investment opportunities between the City of London and the north of England and look forward to continuing the dialogue with the Lord Mayor and the City of London.”
Dr Sophie Dale-Black at the British Business Bank said: “The focus on boosting regional prosperity has laid the foundations for growth, developed a stronger, more collaborative ecosystem, and created thousands of skilled jobs, in Yorkshire and the wider North. It was therefore a delight to host the Lord Mayor and share our vision for the future. As the UK economy looks to build back better, our regional business communities will act as the bedrock for that recovery.”
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
