MSIF Launches new £25m Investment Fund

The Merseyside Loan and Equity Fund as it will be known, is made up of so called ‘evergreen’ money - capital that has returned to MSIF from repayment and realisations from investments made by funds which launched in 1996 and finished investing in 2008.  The new Fund will invest over £25m over the next five years  in established small to medium enterprises (SMEs) based in Merseyside.  Individual investments will range in size from £50k to £2m in the form of loan, mezzanine and equity finance.
 
Currently the Fund stands at around £10m with a further £15m estimated to be available through additional returning capital.  
Investments will be overseen by MSIF’s in-house fund management business, Alliance Fund Managers.  The team which that will be managing the fund will be familiar to most of you: Paul Humphray (loans) and Malcolm Jones and Marion Savill (mezzanine and equity).  These individuals are vastly experienced in their fields and have excellent investment track records.
In addition to the new Fund, AFM is also managing the £3.9m Merseyside Small Loans for Business Fund.  This Fund provides new and growing businesses across the region with loans from £3k to £50k and is overseen by Christine Walters who has particular expertise in working with smaller businesses and those at start up or early stage.  This Fund includes separate pots of money to invest in the retail sector and in high-tech businesses such as those in the creative and digital, life science, energy and manufacturing sectors. 
Businesses across the region (and indeed the UK) have experienced a tough couple of years with a lack of financial support being one of the areas where they have faced difficulties.
Over the past 12 years MSIF has worked closely with its partners and the local business and professional community to make funding easily accessible to local SMEs. This has resulted in investment of £134m in 1,356 businesses, creating and preserving 13,511 jobs and bringing in excess of £245m private sector investment to the region.
 There has been a period of uncertainty over the past couple of years about what funding MSIF would be able to provide.  A lot of hard work has been undertaken to ensure that MSIF would reach its ultimate goal of creating a fund that was independent from European Regional Development Fund and private sector support and we are delighted to have achieved this.  We are very much open for business and would like to encourage you to work closely again with us as you have in the past.
For further information visit www.afm.uk.com