A new £20 million fund designed to support sustained growth for Liverpool City Region businesses is to be launched.
Established by Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region and managed by growth fund MSIF, it will open to any business in the City Region undertaking a growth project.
The funds are designed to help in the generation new jobs in region, to remove obstacles to business expansion, and enable a new generation of ‘change-makers’.
The fund is part of Mayor Rotheram’s £75m Business Growth Package, and the Mayor’s long-term plan to deliver inclusive growth across the city region.
Set to launch at the end of January, the fund will be distributed in the form of flexible, low-interest loans which can be accessed within 6-8 weeks.
Loan repayments will be recycled back into the fund, providing new loan capital.
Paul Humphray, Investment Director at MSIF, said: “We are very much looking forward to launching this fund and helping to support our regional business community in making what can sometimes be tough investment decisions.
“We’ve designed the Flexible Growth Fund to be as fast and as simple as possible to administer, and we’re sure our business community will take advantage.
“What’s more, the region will benefit from the recycling of funds, meaning we are making the money work as hard as possible for the City Region to support long term growth.
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, added: “This fund is very much about the here and now.
“I know how difficult it can be making investment decisions in a business. When you add to that the responsibility we have to support our region’s businesses, the purpose behind the Flexible Growth Fund becomes clear.
“We need our businesses to be firing on all cylinders and we’re determined to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to help drive inclusive-growth in the City Region, create new levels of prosperity, and help our existing businesses create new jobs.”
It is expected that the first loans from the fund will be made in Q1 2020.