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3 minute read

Barclays launches £500m Northern Powerhouse boost

Barclays has launched a new £500m growth fund for small and medium-sized businesses in the North of England as part of the bank’s commitment to support the Government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative.

The new fund is available now to inject investment into businesses across the region with favourable terms for manufacturing, transport and logistics companies, helping them to grow and create new jobs.

Barclays has launched a new £500m growth fund for small and medium-sized businesses as part of their commitment to the Northern Powerhouse / Picture: Getty/iStock

 

Launching the fund, Jes Staley, Barclays Group CEO, said: “Barclays has been helping businesses across the North to succeed since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, when we financed the world’s first steam locomotive passenger railway between Stockton and Darlington. Today, we face new economic challenges and opportunities posed by the digital revolution, the growth in competition from emerging markets, and of course, Brexit.

“The Northern Powerhouse is an initiative which, if delivered, would help the whole country to meet that challenge and take those economic opportunities. That is why I’m delighted to announce our £500 million Northern Powerhouse Growth Fund, enabling businesses across the North to invest in jobs and growth.

“As the UK prepares for Brexit, it’s vitally important that businesses, civic leaders and Government work together to make the Northern Powerhouse a reality. That means supporting entrepreneurs and businesses to succeed, but it also means providing more ways into high quality work.”

The new fund was announced by Jes Staley as he visited Thornton Brothers Limited, in Ashington, Northumberland. The business was founded by two brothers George and Keith Thornton in 1979, who started out with £25,000 of lending from their local Barclays branch. They have since built up the business, which now employs over 70 highly-skilled engineers who modernise fleets of buses for major transport providers across the UK, including Transport for London, Go-Ahead and First Group Ltd.

George Thornton, co-founder of Thornton Brothers, said: “Our family-run business was founded 40 years ago with the help of a loan from Barclays, which is why it’s so fantastic to see a growth fund of this size being launched today to help other entrepreneurs just like us. We specialise in bus refurbishment, serving a number of transport providers from across the country, helping them to modernise their fleets and serve communities.

“This fund will be a real boost to businesses just like ours across the North of England. Gaining access to finance over the years has enabled us to grow our business, hire a number of skilled engineers and build a new state of the art garage with some of the best specialist facilities of their kind in the UK.”

Under the £500m Northern Powerhouse Growth Fund, Barclays will offer a range of services to support day-to-day cash flow, expansion and investment for growth / Picture: Getty/iStock

 

Small Business Minister Andrew Griffiths added: “This Government is fully behind the entrepreneurs delivering jobs, growth and greater choice for consumers so it’s great to see businesses like Barclays providing further investment to help Northern SMEs start-up and grow.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, with over 1,000 being created every day across the country supporting nearly 3 million jobs and generating revenues of more than £200 billion in the North of England alone. Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are building a Britain in which they will continue to thrive.”

Northern Powerhouse Partnership Vice-Chair and leading economist Lord Jim O’Neill, concluded: “I have consistently said that for the Northern Powerhouse to be a success and deliver a more balanced economy for the whole of the UK requires the support and vision of the North’s leading businesses.

“This major fund from Barclays will significantly increase the potential of our SMEs across the Northern Powerhouse to embrace the next Industrial Revolution, incorporating innovation such as robotics and AI into everything they do.

“There is real momentum growing in the Northern Powerhouse, and I hope the commitment Barclays and their CEO Jes Staley have demonstrated today will be matched by our political leaders in Whitehall so the Northern Powerhouse can truly fulfil its potential.”