A PIONEERING £10m fund to help Tees Valley companies bid for work has made its first investment.

The Tees Valley Catalyst Fund is the first of its kind in the UK and is spearheaded by Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU). It allows local companies to bid for large commercial contracts, helping them win new markets and opportunities while boosting the local economy.

The first company to benefit is Process Control Equipment Ltd (PCE), a long-established company based in Thornaby with operational bases in Scotland, Spain, Holland and Germany.

It specialises in supplying industrial valves, actuators and controls for the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

PCE has secured three contracts worth more than £10m connected with the multi-billion dollar Sadara project involving the construction and operation of a world-scale chemicals complex in Saudi Arabia. PCE has been awarded a performance bond loan worth £1.1m.

Barry Jackson, managing director, said: “This fund is a boon for businesses as it opens up opportunities and removes barriers. The loan means that we have not had to tie up a substantial amount of our working capital and as a result we will be able to be more adventurous and ambitious as we bid for future work.”

Stephen Catchpole, managing director of TVU, the Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “This first investment shows how a trail-blazing scheme which we developed to fulfil a pressing business need can make a tangible difference to Tees Valley companies.”

The fund is managed by FW Capital and follows feedback from companies saying they were often shortlisted for contracts, but a lack of cash reserves prevented them from setting up the required bond and progressing through to the final contract.

The fund is an ‘evergreen’ fund with interest and loan repayments ploughed back into new lending.

Joanne Pratt, FW Capital’s North- East fund manager, said: “Many Tees Valley businesses have the capability and capacity to secure new contracts and now, thanks to the fund, they can also access finance for the performance bonds that are often required.”

Aaron Clark, relationship director at Barclays Bank, said they were delighted to introduce PCE to the fund.

He said: “It’s also fantastic to be at the cutting edge of supporting regional growth as the first bank to work with clients accessing the fund.”

The fund is expected to unlock almost £700m of additional work and support 1,440 Tees Valley jobs over the next ten years.

Although primarily aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, larger companies, which may already have a bond facility in place, can access the fund to extend their existing facility to account for significant, one-off contracts for which they otherwise may be unable to bid.

Interested companies should visit fwcapital.co.uk/catalystfund or call the Tees Valley investment team on 01642 343 494.