More than £400 million has been invested by FW Capital across the North and South West of England, driving economic growth, encouraging innovation and boosting property development.
These investments have unlocked a further £592 million in private sector co-investment, amplifying the overall economic impact to nearly £1 billion and significantly boosting local communities and regional productivity.
Since launching its first fund in 2010, FW Capital has backed over 870 businesses across England with funding designed to unlock growth. The impact of this investment has seen 15,000 jobs created and safeguarded, with significant activity in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
As specialists in delivering finance to property developers, the funding has also delivered £90 million to support residential and commercial developments across the North East of England. This has resulted in close to 300 houses being built along with over 30,000 sq m of commercial development. In total 822 jobs have been created or safeguarded as a result of this investment.
Joanne Whitfield Fund Director at FW Capital added: "“Reaching this £400 million milestone is a testament to the hard work of our whole team. By combining public sector vision and private sector agility, we are actively unlocking economic growth across multiple sectors. A key part of this is our strong footprint in the North East, Tees Valley and South Yorkshire. As we continue to grow and meet demand with new funds, we remain focused on delivering flexible finance to SMEs, providing the foundations they need to scale while keeping innovation at the heart of the UK’s regional economies.”
Gary Guest, Fund Director at FW Capital said: “While these funds have seen strong demand in major cities like Bristol, Manchester, and Liverpool, our local presence ensures that underserved areas such as Wiltshire and Cumbria, also benefit from much-needed investment. We are delighted to support regional business growth, encourage inward investment, and drive sustainable job creation across all the communities we serve."
Cumbrian based high-altitude adventure and travel specialist, Kandoo Adventures is one North West business that has received funding from FW Capital. A £500K investment recently assisted the management buyout of the business by Sam Holland and Gareth O’Rourke. This move saw the business come back under Cumbrian ownership after previously being run by a French parent company. The investment from NPIF II – FW Capital Debt Finance supported the management buyout, backing plans to grow the Penrith-based business moving forward and create one of the UK’s leading adventure travel businesses.
In the North East Barrier Group is an example of a business that FW Capital has helped to achieve its ambitious expansion plans. Delivered through the £35m Elevate Fund alongside NPIF II – FW Capital Debt Finance FW Capital has supported the firm’s rapid growth and diversification into the renewable energy sector. This has enabled the Barrier Group to capitalise on a series of major new contract wins in the renewables sector, including offshore wind projects, while also supporting the expansion of its workforce.
Headquartered in Wallsend, North Tyneside, Barrier Group is a leading provider in industrial services, modular construction and passive fire protection, delivering turnkey design, build and protective solutions. The business has gone from strength to strength, building a strong reputation across offshore and onshore power generation projects, marine, petrochemical and oil and gas.
