The Northern 500 programme, led by North East mayor Kim McGuinness and NatWest Group chief executive Paul Thwaite, aims to create a unified growth community for the North's most ambitious mid-sized businesses. The initiative, supported by major companies including NatWest and Sage, seeks to bring jobs and economic growth to the region.
Programme details and backing
The project follows an announcement by NatWest at the Great North Investment Summit earlier this year, pledging £20bn over the next 10 years to help grow businesses in the North. Programme leaders met in Newcastle this week, with plans to identify an initial cohort of 80–100 businesses ahead of the programme's formal launch in the New Year.
Funding to deliver the programme was confirmed by the Chancellor in the Budget, which also highlighted private sector involvement. The programme will unlock fresh opportunities for Northern firms seeking to scale up, invest, innovate and break into new markets, helping to generate employment and stimulate economic growth across the region.
Collaboration and support
The initiative will also collaborate with the British Business Bank, National Wealth Fund, Great British Energy, Royal Academy of Engineering, Chambers of Commerce and the TUC, with the aim of connecting businesses to investment, expertise and opportunities throughout the North.
Ms McGuinness, North East mayor and chair of The Great North initiative, said: "The North is home to brilliant, ambitious businesses with the ideas, talent and determination to compete with the best in the world. But too often, businesses with the potential to grow faster face barriers that hold them back."
Leaders' perspectives
Paul Thwaite, chief executive of NatWest Group, said: "The North is home to some of the UK's most ambitious mid-market businesses, and we want to help them go further and faster. These companies create jobs, drive investment and play a vital role in the economies and communities around them."
Ben Aung, chief of staff at Sage, said: "Some of the UK's most exciting and ambitious businesses are being built here in the North. Sage was founded in the North East 45 years ago and our own journey shows what is possible when businesses have the ambition, support and opportunity to scale."
The programme aims to help Northern businesses expand, compete internationally and create more good jobs across communities, turning Northern ambition into economic growth.
