£125m for North-East business

Preeti Jha, Regen.net, 19 November 2008

The Regional Development Agency One North East, together with investment from the European Regional Development Fund, has pledged £62 million to kick-start the Jeremie fund - Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises Initiative.

On Tuesday the agency opened negotiations with the European Investment Bank to match this sum and create a £125 million fund.

One North East estimates that the Jeremie fund could give 850 small and medium-sized companies access to finance over a five year period.

The funding is expected to be in place by the beginning of 2010, when existing finance schemes come to an end.

The application process will be revealed at a later date.

Malcolm Page, One North East deputy chief executive, said: "Access to finance has never been more crucial for firms who will face challenging times as the credit crunch bites deeper. The Jeremie fund will allow us to invest in smaller firms, giving them security to consolidate and plan ahead."