CHANCELLOR ANNOUNCES £150M FUND FOR NORTHERN START-UPS

Chancellor John Healey will announce a £150 million fund to support fast-growing firms across the North of England, according to reports of a speech he will deliver at a manufacturing site. The fund, drawn from the existing budget of the British Business Bank, will offer investments between £5 million and £15 million to university spin-outs and innovative companies in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. Mr Healey is expected to frame the initiative as "supply side economics" rather than "sentimentality" and to say the measure aims to "get behind the most innovative and fast-growing firms". The Treasury hopes the investment will attract additional private capital alongside the public funding.

The announcement forms part of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's devolution strategy, which Mr Healey's speech will seek to support. The British Business Bank and National Wealth Fund will be tasked with expanding investment and innovation support across the UK, with the National Wealth Fund establishing strategic partnerships with mayoral authorities in South Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, the North East, and Cardiff Capital Region. These partnerships will give local leaders access to the fund's investment expertise to develop infrastructure projects. The Treasury stated that the initiative reflects a shift towards using public investment to unlock private investment and support local industrial strategies.

The announcement comes ahead of Mr Healey's first Budget on 28 October, against a backdrop of rising Government borrowing costs. The Chancellor is expected to present an "optimistic story" about Britain's economic prospects, echoing Mr Burnham's more upbeat messaging compared to his predecessor. Mr Healey will argue that economic growth must reach beyond major urban centres, stating that "the next chapter of Britain's growth story will be written in more places".