UK chancellor unveils £150M northern scaleup fund

The UK government has today unveiled a £150m scaleup fund to invest
in university spinouts in the north of England as it looks to turbocharge
growth outside of the capital. The fund will make investments of between £5m and £15m in the
“most innovative and fast-growing firms”. It is set to invest in university spinouts and “ambitious
businesses” across the north of England.

Speaking at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in the Midlands, UK
chancellor John Healey, said: “London – of course – is our powerhouse. But
if our city-regions could emulate the success of those in France or Germany,
growth in our country would be transformed.
In Britain, we also have our growth corridors – the
Oxford-Cambridge Growth and the Northern Growth Corridor.
I can today announce a new allocation from the British Business Bank, £150m
for scale-ups in the north – so that we get behind the most innovative and
fast-growing firms.”
 

The money for the fund comes from funds previously allocated to the British Business
Bank, the government-owned economic development bank.

The fund forms part of prime minister Andy Burnham’s
broader investment plans to stimulate growth outside of the capital, with the
hope that the fund will attract further private investment into northern businesses.