THE Merseyside Special Investment Fund launched last October, has invested its first million pounds. The £25 million fund has already invested in over 40 companies in the region.
It had been expected that investment would be slow at first and then pick up. Fund officals say that the pace of investment is increasing rapidly, and more enquiries and proposals are coming in.
Fund director Graham Thelwall Jones said: "We're very pleased by the way we are able to support with hard investment cash the efforts of organisations like the Mersey Partnership to attract businesses here and create more jobs."
The Small Firms Fund now expects up to 200 serious proposals in a full year. Loans are currently averaging around £12,000. The Mezzanene Fund manager, David Hall, reports that business is "highly encouraging".
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