THE man responsible for managing the effective distribution of £125m of investment capital across north east England will be the keynote speaker at a gathering of the region’s leading business recovery experts this month.
Andrew Mitchell, chief executive of North East Finance, will speak to more than 60 members of the North East arm of insolvency trade body R3 about how SMEs in the region are trading through the difficult economic climate.
North East Finance has overall responsibility for the management of the £125m Finance For Business North East programme, a groundbreaking suite of investment funds that has been designed to drive future economic growth across the region.
Since being launched early last year, more than 250 investments with a total value of £28m have been made from the seven Finance For Business North East funds in companies based in every part of the north east.
The R3 event will highlight how the funds aim to help all types of business, from new start-ups to turnarounds, and how the various fund managers are working closely with business intermediaries to identify and assist potential investees.
R3’s north east membership encompasses senior representatives from the region’s leading professional services firms, many of which have been directly involved with Growth Fund investments.
The meeting is being hosted at the Newcastle offices of accountancy firm Baker Tilly, and will also feature a presentation from David Wilson, director at debt advisory firm NE Money, who are sponsoring the event.
Linda Farish, chair of R3 in the north east, and director of recovery & Insolvency at Newcastle-based accountants RMT, said: “The Finance For Business North East programme has provided a range of new investment options for firms of every shape and size, and in every situation, including the turnaround scenarios that our members face when trying to save and reinvigorate a company’s operations.
“Hearing how this is working in practice will give our members invaluable insight into how they might utilise the investment capital that is available, and will also provide an excellent platform for North East Finance to potentially identify new investment opportunities.”
