31.01.20
Liverpool Metro Mayor launches new £20m growth fund
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has launched a new £20m fund aiming to support sustained growth for ambitious business in the area.
Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotherham, announced the news yesterday (Jan 30) that any business in the City Region undertaking a growth project will be able to apply for the fund, managed by the Flexible Growth Fund, MSIF.
The fund will underpin a wealth of new jobs in the region, allowing business expansion and a new generation of people able too pave the way for long-term growth and change.
It comes as part of the Mayor’s Business Growth Package, the largest set of business support funds in decades, to boost inclusive growth across the city.
Flexible, low-interest loans will be available and accessible to businesses with 6-8 weeks.
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.”
By fast-tracking organisations’ access to finance, the model is designed to unlock investment opportunities and leverage private sector investment in job-creating and job-sustaining projects.
An ‘evergreen’ model of fund recycling means that loan repayments will be put back into the fund for other organisations to ensure funds aren’t exhausted as quickly as in the past.
Levels of commercial finance arrangements have fallen year on year since 2012, resulting in a decline of competitiveness and economic productivity levels in the UK. The Flexible Growth Fund aims to break this cycle and trigger investment, by creating viable and attractive alternatives to commercial loans, without establishing a culture of grant-dependency.
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