Northern Powerhouse Growth Fund

The Northern Powerhouse is an initiative that aims to bring together cities and towns of the north of England and Wales to create an economic powerhouse. It relies on essential funding from the government and a network of partners – including us – to help ensure the North is the right place to grow a business.

We’ve made £500m¹ available for the Northern Powerhouse region. The 5-year initiative offers small and medium-sized local businesses a range of lending options that supports day-to-day cashflow, expansion, investment and growth as well as support from a team of over 500 dedicated regional Relationship Managers.

The fund can provide a range of business lending services to support day-to-day cashflow, expansion and investment for growth of SMEs, including

• An overdraft of up to £250,000 ²
• Term lending fee-free of up to £25,000 ³
•  Up to £100,000 lending without the need for tangible security^*
• Cashflow funding to invest in acquisitions and organic business growth
• Lending and debt support that can be combined with the government’s Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

Subject to application and status

* Each active director of / partner in the business will have to sign a short form personal guarantee in relation to the lending.  This is a personal guarantee incorporated within the overdraft / loan facility letter, and each person who signs a short form personal guarantee will be personally liable for the lending in addition to the business.

Our fund⁴ is for small and medium-sized enterprises within the Northern Powerhouse region, including

• Established businesses with ambitious growth plans
• Start-ups with high-growth potential
• Companies with early-stage equity funding
• Businesses that focus on innovation, technology and research and development