NPIF – Maven Equity Finance has invested over £7 million in dynamic growth businesses across the Northern Powerhouse region in quarter one of 2021. A milestone for the fund, Maven has completed 17 transactions investing in 7 new businesses and supporting 10 portfolio companies in the last 3 months.
Appointed by the British Business Bank in February 2017, Maven manages £81 million worth of equity finance for the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, working with the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Combined Authorities in the North West. Maven has completed investments ranging from £100,000 to £2 million, supporting the creation of over 600 jobs, and has also successfully leveraged an additional £74.5 million in private sector finance for local businesses since the Fund’s launch.
This quarter Maven backed a number of businesses in the digital health sector including AI powered patient management system Healum, and advanced industrial rheology specialist Stream Sensing. The £1 million investment in Cheshire-based iAm Compliant, a safety management and compliance online tool, accelerated the build out of the iAM learning library, a cloud-based content as a service that provides a range of eLearning topics.
Notable transactions also include over £1.5 million invested in Liverpool City region businesses to support the continued growth of companies such as international chemical technology business, Liverpool ChiroChem and video collaboration platform, YR Free.
Ryan Bevington, Investment Director at Maven, said: “The North West has historically been a hotbed for innovation and the main attraction for entrepreneurs and investors is the thriving business economy and opportunity for growth. We are delighted the fund has achieved such a significant milestone in such a short space of time and we continue to be a key player in supporting the growth of exciting businesses and the creation of jobs across the region.”
“The North West is fast becoming a global powerhouse and Maven continues to invest across many industries with the technology and digital sectors particularly prevalent, closely followed by the business services, niche manufacturing, science and healthcare sectors. We’ve backed some fantastic entrepreneurs to date, and this active quarter demonstrates the appetite and need for this type of equity finance. With such a great start to 2021 this looks set to be our busiest year yet.”
Grant Peggie, Director at the British Business Bank, said: “It’s been another really strong quarter for the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, with investments to date exceeding £256m with an additional £310m of investment from the private sector. Maven has been crucial in delivering investment across the North West, providing equity funding to ambitious businesses across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Liverpool City Region, Cheshire & Warrington and Cumbria.
“As we build back from the pandemic it is vital that we continue to address the historic imbalances between the North and South, ensuring businesses of all sizes have the means to continually innovate, adapt and grow – creating a more prosperous regional northern economy We will continue to work with our fund managers, LEPs and Combined Authorities to achieve this goal and congratulate Maven on achieving this milestone.”
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.
