In his budget statement, the Chancellor has announced a further £400m allocation for a new Midlands Engine Investment Fund(MEIF), to be delivered by the British Business Bank.
This announcement represents a significant commitment by the government to support access to finance in the Midlands, bringing the total for investment in the region to in excess of £700m.
In addition, an extra £50m has been allocated to the current MEIF programme to take it to £300m, ensuring continuity of funding whilst the new MEIF becomes operational and its funds begin to be deployed.
Last year the Midlands Engine Investment Fund was responsible for 25% of all equity deals in the Midlands.
The current MEIF fund has invested £142m in Midlands SMEs since 2017, helping to leverage a further £150m of additional private sector funds into these businesses and creating more than 3,800 jobs.
The next generation of MEIF is a key part of the Government’s commitment to Levelling Up the UK economy and overcoming regional imbalances, specifically in access to finance for SMEs.
The first MEIF was launched in 2017 and has so far delivered over £292m (including private sector investment) across 648 investments into over 460 SMEs.