MILLIONS of pounds of European funding allocated to help North-East businesses has been successfully distributed.

Regional development agency One North East, which manages the North-East’s allocation from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for 2007 to 2013, yesterday said it had successfully delivered against the £20.3m spending target set by the European Commission for the end of last year.

In addition the Jeremie venture capital fund (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises Initiative), has secured £44.25m of ERDF investment on top of last year’s spending figure.

The fund, the first of its type in England, will provide loans and equity investments to 850 smaller firms in the region over a fiveyear period.

One North East deputy chief executive Malcolm Page said: “It’s the culmination of many months of hard work for those who deliver ERDF-approved projects.

“They have worked closely with the agency to maximise eligible spend and ensure prompt submission of claims.”

He added: “Had we failed to achieve the required levels of spend, the North-East would have been subject to financial penalty and a reduction of ERDF investment in future years.”

The ERDF programme is bringing more than £300m into the North-East to support innovation, enterprise and business support.

It will help create and safeguard 28,000 new jobs, establish 3,000 new businesses and increase the region’s productivity by £1.1bn per annum.