BY Helen Kay | Tuesday 21 October 2025
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) has directly invested £115m into over 300 small businesses across the North of England, including Yorkshire and the Humber.
This is alongside an additional £68m of private sector co-investment, taking its total delivery to more than £180m. Since its launch, NPIF II has now completed over 315 deals to date.
The fund has supported a diverse range of business sectors, including advanced manufacturing, digital and technology businesses, and the creative industries.
Operated by the British Business Bank, NPIF II is a £660m fund that provides loans and equity finance options for Northern smaller businesses that might otherwise not receive investment. The purpose of NPIF II is to break down barriers in access to finance by providing loans from £25,000 to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to start up, scale up, and stay ahead.
Since its launch, NPIF II has completed deals with some of the region’s most exciting founders, helping businesses access the finance they need to unlock growth and new opportunities.
In Sheffield, independent bridge engineering specialist EKSPAN secured £1.4m in debt funding from NPIF II – Mercia Debt Finance to support its further growth. The company was established over 30 years ago, but for much of that time operated as part of larger corporates, most recently the USL Group. It has helped deliver some of the UK’s most high-profile bridge infrastructure projects and with the funding, has helped expand its capabilities even further with the aim to increase turnover by 50 per cent in the next three years.
Over in Hull, Candid Hospitality is a hospitality tech businesses that is reshaping how hospitality businesses recruit staff. Led by Sam Brown and Nick Holroyd-Doveton, it raised £785,000 from NPIF II – Mercia Equity Finance, with the company now planning to double its team to 14 members of staff over the next two years. So far, it has already secured partnerships with big brands such as Honest Burgers and Flight club, having only just launched in February this year.
For education provider, Make a Difference (MAD), funding was needed to expand its facilities to create new therapeutic learning environments. Based in Sheffield, MAD secured a loan from NPIF II – BEF Smaller Loans to transform key parts of its new educational space including the development of a new dedicated life skills classroom and welcoming dining room spaces. The business was set up by former deputy headteacher and education consultant, Adrian Anderson, as a solution to the lack of quality, therapeutic alternative education for vulnerable young people.
Lizzy Upton, senior investment manager at the British Business Bank, said: “Yorkshire and The Humber is a vast region that is home to businesses operating in a range of sectors, from advanced manufacturing to specialist service providers. Given this diversity, it’s amazing to see NPIF II supporting so many ambitious businesses and entrepreneurs across our region, unlocking growth and fuelling job creation. It shows why it’s so vital to have targeted funding to areas traditionally underserved, ensuring we’re driving growth in every corner of the country, whether in big cities or rural communities.”
