THE Northwest Development Agency today launched a £15m stopgap venture capital fund to support businesses while the launch of a larger regional fund is delayed.

The NWDA is planning a £140m regional venture fund using cash from the North West’s latest round of European Union economic development money. It will be made available for equity investments and business loans for small and medium sized firms.

The Northwest Venture Capital and Loan Fund was meant to have been made available by early this year, but it has been delayed as the NWDA continues its negotiations with the Government.

The agency today launched a £15m transitional fund to ensure there is no gap in support.

NWDA chief executive Steve Broomhead said: “A critical element of our finance portfolio is the new long term Venture Capital and Loan Fund which is currently in development.

“We know a lot of people are waiting to hear about this multi-million pound fund. It is taking longer than anticipated but we have now agreed, with Government, a way forward in which to progress the structure of this fund.

“And we are not alone – not one of the regional venture capital funds across England has yet been launched.

“Therefore, we have been working hard behind the scenes to put in place additional transitional funding to make sure we have no gaps in finance for business here in the North West and ensure we are ready for the up-turn in the economy.”

The agency has launched a 30-day tendering process to find a manager for the new fund. Alliance Fund Managers, which runs the Merseyside Special Investment Fund, is among those bidding to run the Northwest Venture Capital and Loan Fund.