Private credit investor TDC has secured additional commitments to its Impact Fund, unlocking vital resources for ambitious small businesses in the North of England.
The Impact Fund, which focuses “on driving job creation across the North of England, was launched in May 2022 after securing cornerstone commitments totaling £40m from British Business Investments and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.”
The investors have now “committed an additional £30m, bringing the total to £70m, following strong demand for private credit from the small business community across the North.”
The increased fund size means TDC is now “able to offer loan sizes between £1m and £7m.”
Founded in 2015, TDC has continued to “support businesses in the UK’s mid-market. As the only private credit investor outside of London serving the whole of the UK, TDC’s recent capital partnership with KKR has enabled the lender to take capital under management to over £1bn.”
The Impact Fund sits alongside TDC’s three main funds, which “make investments of up to £40m.”
Earlier this year, TDC supported employee health and wellbeing solutions provider, Latus Health, with “a debt facility through the Impact Fund to support the acquisition of ELAS Occupational Health and The Industrial Diagnostics Company.”
The acquisitions strengthened Latus’ position “as a leading occupational health provider within the UK, and will create more job opportunities in its Hull headquarters.”
Gary Davison, Managing Partner at TDC, commented:
“We launched the Impact Fund at a time of an unstable economic backdrop with a vision of supporting SMEs across the North that had been disrupted by Covid-19 and the macro-economic conditions experienced following this period. Our focus has been on supporting their recovery with a specific remit of growing employment in the region. As an investment business that was born in Manchester, we’re proud to support these local entrepreneurs in bringing their growth strategies to life.”
As noted in the update:
“We’ve achieved great success to date, and are delighted to secure further commitment from British Business Investments and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund to take our Impact Fund to a £70m cap, enabling us to unlock what the North has to offer the UK as a whole and beyond. It’s a unique offering that sits alongside our main funds, and reflects our commitment to making the North an attractive place to work for top-tier talent.”
Adam Kelly, Managing Director, British Business Investments, said:
“British Business Investments’ objectives are to ensure smaller businesses can access as diverse a range of finance options as possible and to reduce regional imbalances in access to finance. This compliments TDC’s approach as an alternative lender, supporting the development of Northern businesses which might otherwise be unable to access capital to grow. We are pleased to make this further commitment to TDC to help growing smaller businesses in the North to access the additional investment capital they need to scale up.”
TDC is the only private credit investor “outside of London serving the whole of the UK, and following its recent partnership with KKR has now cemented its leading position in the UK lower mid-market.”
From its Manchester base, TDC is “developing a team of world-class finance professionals who would have traditionally been drawn to London to further their careers.”
With £1bn raised to date, TDC is committed “to unlocking finance for SMEs and helping to drive forward the Northern Powerhouse agenda.”