SIX fund managers have been chosen to run the North West’s £185m venture capital loan fund.

The European Union backed North West Fund (NWF) will be the biggest of its kind in the UK and will provide venture capital and loan funding to existing and start-up businesses across the whole region.

More than £70m – around 40% – of the fund will be ringfenced for Merseyside. However, the six fund managers do not include Liverpool-based Alliance Fund Managers (AFM) which has been running the interim loan fund for the past few months.

NWF’s aim is to pull in a further £200m of private sector funding to match Brussels cash and create or safeguard up to 14,000 jobs by the end of 2015.

NWF will be ready to receive applications for funding between July and August this year.

The six funds are: Development Capital, Business Loan, Venture Capital, Biomedical, Energy & Environmental and Digital & Creative.

The fund managers are YFM Private Equity, FW Capital, Enterprise Ventures, Spark Impact, CT Investment Partners and AXM Venture Capital.

The announcement throws the future of AFM into doubt.

It employs 19 staff in Liverpool city centre, administering the interim loan fund, but that will come to an end in the next few weeks.

AFM chief operating officer Lisa Greenhalgh said last night: “This will clearly have an impact on the investment and support staff who are currently employed by AFM in the region. A further statement will be issued by AFM in the next few days.”

AFM used to manage Merseyside Special Investment Fund.