A ground-breaking investment fund has been set up by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to provide innovative businesses with equity of up to £1m, helping them to expand and grow the region’s industries of the future.
The West Midlands Co-Investment Fund, totalling £25m, has been set up to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), with investments focused on SMEs that offer high-growth potential and the ability to help supercharge the regional economy. The investment partnership will look to invest in SMEs across a variety of sectors including green technology, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and creative and digital, helping them to scale up operations.
Operating over a 10-year period, the fund will focus on bringing new private investor money to the region and, using a co-investment model, will invest alongside business angels and other private sector investors on a minimum £1 to £1 basis. It recognises the pivotal role that high growth potential SMEs have to play in accelerating the regional economy. SMEs create remarkably high value for the West Midlands, mainly in the form of jobs, technological development and in attracting investment from other regions or countries. As a result, the fund could generate an extra £49m for the regional economy and create or secure nearly 800 jobs.
The goals of the West Midlands Co-investment fund are closely aligned to the region’s net zero ambitions and to its Plan for Growth which was launched last year to help supercharge the economy in the wake of the pandemic. Businesses based in Birmingham, The Black Country, and Coventry that are revenue-generating are eligible to apply, with more information available from the fund managers Midven here.
You will need to provide a business plan as part of the application process, so remember that we can help you with creating a plan through our business advice service. We can also help prepare all the financial documentation you will need for this or similar funding applications. For help and support with any other aspect of fundraising for your business, contact one of our accounting and business advice team today.
