£150 million fund for fast-growing companies in the North of England
Key Points
- The British Business Bank will allocate £150 million to scale-ups in the North of England
- The Northern 500 groups the region's most ambitious mid-sized businesses under the Great North Mayors
- Four more regions join the National Wealth Fund as Strategic Partners
- Green Book discount rate cut from 3.5% to 3% to favour long-term projects
Chancellor John Healey has announced a £150 million British Business Bank allocation for scale-up companies in the North of England, alongside a new grouping of the region’s most ambitious mid-sized businesses.
Healey made the announcements in his Growth Speech on Monday (7 September), with the transcript published by HM Treasury.
The Chancellor said the fund would back the most innovative and fast-growing firms along the Northern Growth Corridor.
He also announced the Northern 500, which brings the North’s most ambitious mid-sized businesses into a single growth community led by the Great North partnership of Mayors.
The private sector and central government will support the group, Healey said.
South Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, North-East England and Cardiff Capital Region will become the latest Strategic Partners of the National Wealth Fund, following the West Midlands.
Healey said the National Wealth Fund would work hands-on with these areas to build their own investment pipelines.
The Chancellor said he would set out a roadmap to fiscal devolution at the Budget, with grants from central government replaced by a share of local income tax for every Mayoral Strategic Authority from 2028.
He also announced changes to the Treasury’s Green Book, cutting the discount rate from 3.5% to 3% so that projects with long-term potential outside London get a fairer hearing.
Healey said the government would introduce economic potential analysis into its investment decisions to assess places on what they could become rather than what they are today.
New unicorns
Healey has also set an ambition to double the number of unicorn companies in the UK, with the government acting as an early first customer for the firms it picks out to scale.
Healey set out the plan in his Growth Speech on Monday (7 September), with the transcript published by HM Treasury.
A unicorn is a privately held startup valued at $1 billion or more.
Healey said that ideas born in Britain too often go elsewhere to find the capital they need to grow, taking the jobs, benefits and intellectual property with them.
