Eight in ten firms backed by the Nations and Regions Investment Funds say they would have raised less, later or nothing without them. That is the headline finding of an independent evaluation published by the British Business Bank on 13 October 2026.
01What the evaluation found
The research company SQW carried out the early assessment. It covers activity up to September 2025.
By then the funds had made 951 investments in 877 businesses. They had invested £294m, and £233m of private money had been invested alongside it.
According to the evaluation, 81% of the businesses it surveyed gave one of two answers. Without the funds, they would not have got the finance at all. Or they would have got less of it, or got it more slowly. That is a survey of firms that were backed. It is not an approval rate.
Among firms that took equity, 57% were raising institutional finance for the first time. By July 2026 the funds had invested more than £465m in 1,254 businesses.
02Who the Nations and Regions Investment Funds lend to
The evaluation looked at six funds. Three cover English regions: the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II and the South West Investment Fund. The other three are the investment funds for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
They offer commercial finance to smaller businesses through smaller loans, debt finance and equity. The Northern Powerhouse fund, for example, offers smaller loans of £25,000 to £100,000, debt finance of £100,000 to £2m and equity of up to £5m.
The money is invested through fund managers in each region, and each fund sets its own criteria. With the new South East Investment Fund and East of England fund, there is now a regional fund for every UK nation and region outside London.
03If your bank has said no
A no from your bank is one lender's view. It is not the end of the road.
The evaluation suggests many of the firms it surveyed would have struggled to get the same finance elsewhere. Regional funds are one option. Asset finance, invoice finance and specialist lenders are others.
A broker can look at the deal across a wider range of lenders and options. If you are planning the next stage, our business growth finance page explains how we can help.
