Mayors and business leaders across the North are backing a new "Northern 500" programme designed to support the region's most ambitious mid-sized businesses and drive economic growth. The initiative, announced by the Government, is being led by North East mayor Kim McGuinness and NatWest Group chief executive Paul Thwaite, and has held its first meeting.
Programme aims to create a single growth community
The Northern 500 seeks to bring together the North's most ambitious mid-sized businesses into a single growth community. Funding for the programme was confirmed by the Chancellor in the Budget, which also highlighted private sector involvement, including NatWest Group and Newcastle technology group Sage. Lloyds Banking Group will join the scheme next year.
The programme will open up new opportunities for Northern firms looking to scale, invest, innovate and reach new markets, helping to create jobs and drive economic growth across the North. It follows research by NatWest which found that mid-market firms employ 7.3m people and generate around £420bn in economic value each year. Adding just 1% additional growth among these businesses could generate an extra £24bn for the economy outside London and the South East by 2030, the report says.
Leaders meet in Newcastle to identify first cohort
Programme leaders met in Newcastle this week, and are aiming to identify an initial cohort of around 80–100 businesses before the programme formally launches in the New Year. The programme will also work alongside the British Business Bank, National Wealth Fund, Great British Energy, Royal Academy of Engineering, Chambers of Commerce and the TUC in aiming to connect businesses to investment, expertise and opportunities across the North.
Kim McGuinness, North East mayor and chair of The Great North, 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.
"Mid-sized businesses are already economic powerhouses. Just imagine what more they could achieve with the right backing, connections and opportunities.
"Through the Northern 500, we're bringing together the collective strength of the North's mayors with some of the biggest names in banking, business and technology to unlock that potential. This is about turning Northern ambition into economic growth – helping our businesses expand, compete internationally and create more good jobs for people across our communities."
NatWest and Sage back the initiative
NatWest announced a £20bn, 10-year funding commitment to the North earlier this year. The announcement came at the first Great North Investment Summit, which was held in Leeds in a bid to sell the region as a key driver of the UK's economic growth.
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.
"That is the opportunity at the heart of the Northern 500: bringing business and the public and private sectors together to unlock growth, increase investment and help more Northern companies deliver on the opportunities. Alongside our £20bn funding commitment over the next 10 years, our relationship managers are supporting customers to realise their ambitions across the North every day. The Northern 500 reinforces our determination to back the businesses driving the North's economy forward."
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.
"As a company that remains proudly headquartered in the region, we're delighted to support the Northern 500 and help create the conditions for more Northern businesses to fulfil their potential."
