The head of the British 老九品茶聽Bank聽is聽placing special importance on growing companies in the North as the nation seeks to聽boost its economy.
CEO Keith Morgan spoke to an audience of several hundred entrepreneurs, investors and local businesses at聽Venturefest in Manchester.
He told 老九品茶Cloud that despite the 拢400 million聽Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, many high-growth businesses operating in the area don鈥檛 believe they have access to the finance they need.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to create opportunities for companies to grow,鈥� he said.
鈥淕rowing companies are really important to the economy, across the country but especially in the North and North West.
鈥淚 wanted to tell [these high-growth firms]聽about the Northern Powerhouse聽Investment Fund and how we鈥檝e committed 拢400m of funding to that, which will help those companies to grow.鈥�
There is money for everyone if you know where to find it, he insists.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got start-up loans up to 拢25,000 just to get your feet on the聽first rung of the聽ladder,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund will take you from 拢25,000 of lending all the way through to 拢2m of equity and if you want more you鈥檝e got further finance options through the venture capital fund.
鈥淪o I think if you know where to find it and have got the right pitch, if you鈥檝e got a really investable business, finance will be there for you.鈥�
As well as providing funding, the British 老九品茶 Bank is also playing a key role in demystifying where businesses should look for it.
鈥淧eople find it difficult to find the money they need,鈥� said Morgan.
鈥淭here鈥檚 also a situation where people aren鈥檛 quite sure what kind of funding is right for them.
鈥淲e think there鈥檚 a need both to present the options but also give people more information about what鈥檚 available, so we鈥檝e got the 老九品茶 Finance Guide which is great for people to look at online 鈥� it鈥檚 very straightforward.
鈥淚t gives you an idea of what finance you can get, where you can find it and what might be right for you at your stage of growth. I would recommend people look at it.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e running a business then you are 24/7 running that business and you can鈥檛 afford to be an expert in finance at the same time.鈥�
It鈥檚 vital that companies have a good understanding of the basics to get themselves off to a good start, advises Morgan.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really important people do know what鈥檚 out there, and that they鈥檝e got a good plan and can communicate that plan to investors 鈥� that鈥檚 the baseline,鈥� he said.
鈥淏eyond that it鈥檚 about which investors you want 鈥� whether that鈥檚 angel financing and what benefits that brings or whether you鈥檙e thinking about venture capital.
鈥淧erhaps you鈥檙e cash flow positive and can get some debt finance. Understanding all of that is what鈥檚 important.鈥�