A fund backing growing businesses is celebrating a key milestone after investing more than £275m across the North of England.

Twelve thousand jobs have been created and safeguarded because of FW Capital funding with a total impact of over £600m, backing over 730 businesses with their growth plans since the launch of the Funds in 2010.

Loans over £275m were made directly by FW Capital which attracted co-investment of approaching £350m from the private sector. This investment has helped a wide variety of sectors, ranging from manufacturing and construction to technology.

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Joanne Whitfield, Fund Director at FW Capital, said: “Reaching £275m of funding is a fantastic milestone and demonstrates our commitment to helping local businesses reach their potential.

"The jobs created because of this investment are supporting local communities and are having a significant impact on the local economy. We’re seeing great opportunities across the North East, with a hub of activity across the energy, manufacturing and property development sectors.

"We’re proud to work with innovative North East businesses and stimulate growth using NPIF-FW Capital Debt Finance, the North East Commercial Property Investment Fund and the North East Property Fund. Each fund delivers a valuable boost to the future of our economy, and I’d encourage businesses to talk to us about how we can help them.”

One example of a local business that has enjoyed significant growth after receiving investment from FW Capital is North East energy and water services firm Cenergist, now part of AIM listed Eneraqua Technologies.

Cenergist works across the UK, Europe, and India to help public sector and private clients in their drive to net zero by delivering specialist energy and water efficiency solutions, which also benefits customers financially by reducing bills. The business was backed by FW Capital between 2015 and 2020, receiving a total of £1.85million of investment from FW Capital.

This includes its first round of funding from the North East Growth Plus Fund and a further three loans totalling £1.5million investment from NPIF - FW Capital Debt Finance.

The funding has helped Cenergist in its growth strategy from a turnover of £1.27 million to £55m in FY23, creating new jobs with the team growing from 10 to 168 people worldwide. Cenergist operates from offices in Washington, Tyne and Wear, London, and Leeds, with additional offices in the Netherlands, Spain and India.

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Chief Financial Officer Iain Richardson said: “We’ve enjoyed a fantastic partnership with FW Capital which helped the company in the key early development stage to expand the business significantly. Their backing was a key driver in our success and helped us to create new jobs and become the international business that we are today.”

FW Capital has four funds under management and a further two delivered funds. This includes the Tees Valley Catalyst Fund, the North East Property Fund, the North East Commercial Property Investment Fund and NPIF - FW Capital Debt Finance. The completed funds are the North East Growth Plus Fund and North West Funds for Loans Plus.

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.