Maven's Access To Finance Programme For Finance Durham

Transforming the financial landscape for companies across County Durham.

Celebrating an outstanding first year, Maven’s access to finance programme for Finance Durham has supported over 100 of the County’s best and brightest businesses.

Crowned one of the UK’s most innovative cities in 2018, Durham is home to a growing hub of dynamic, high-growth businesses. Now with access to an exciting funding opportunity, the £20 million Finance Durham Fund, established by Durham County Council and managed by Maven Capital Partners to provide a pioneering platform for growth for local businesses.

In line with Durham County Council’s economic growth strategy to help enterprises in County Durham start, grow and compete more effectively, Maven has established a comprehensive access to finance programme enabling businesses to develop the appropriate strategy and governance to enable them to effectively secure and use investments.

Launching a series of Venture Investment Clinics last year, Maven provides 1-2-1 support sessions enabling companies to identify and access the most suitable type of finance to meet their funding needs. Run by Maven’s local investment team, led by Michael Vassallo, the clinics have supported over 100 local companies to provide entrepreneurs with the right knowledge and know-how to take their next steps towards growth. With over 30 clinics held across a variety of locations, Maven ensure the widest range of businesses can access, use and benefit from the clinics to improve their financial awareness and confidence, meaning more County Durham businesses are investor ready, fuelling economic growth within the County.

Now with a bespoke, online business support directory available via the Finance Durham website, Maven can also connect businesses to local, knowledgeable sources of advice and assistance to outline the alternative sources of funding and support available to help them achieve their growth plans.

Working with over 20 local support partners to deliver investor readiness training to companies raising finance across a range of sectors, Maven has partnered with support organisations including: Dynamo, one of the leading North East IT organisations, the County Durham Engineering and Manufacturing Network (CDEMN), and the Innovation Super Network, in collaboration with FinanceCamp and VentureFest, working to improve the quality of investment proposals across the County.

Michael Vassallo, Investment Director of Maven, said, “At Maven, we understand the importance of proactively providing local support, our investment team has considerable in-depth knowledge of the local SME market, allied to our national resource, we are well-equipped to deliver comprehensive investor readiness training tailored to the individual growth needs of businesses based in County Durham.”

Sarah Slaven, Business Development Director of Business Durham, added, “We are delighted with the impact the Finance Durham access to finance programme has had on business confidence in the County so far. Business Durham are working in partnership with Maven to help deliver on some of the investor readiness initiatives and we look forward to supporting more local businesses on their growth journeys.”

Maven completed the Fund’s seventh investment last month into intranet software specialists Orchidsoft as part of a £2.7 million deal. Funding will allow the business to open a training centre in the heart of Durham, expand the roll-out of its innovative cloud-based intranet software solution, Oak, and double number of employees to more than 100. The co-investment deal between Maven’s Investor Partners network and the Finance Durham Fund is a great example of Maven’s client funds working alongside the Council’s innovative fund to provide a local business with a substantial funding package to enable it to grow globally.

The Finance Durham Fund can provide the financial resources to back business growth for ambitious companies. If your business is based in County Durham, or you are relocating to the County, it may be eligible for investment. If you feel you could benefit from funding to help achieve your growth ambitions, then please contact Maven’s local team to discuss your business and its plans.