Regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers has strengthened its investment team with two new appointments.
Susan Snowdon has been recruited by the Newcastle-based firm as an investment executive, while Sarah Carr has joined the team in an investment administrator role.
Susan brings more than three decades’ experience of working in the corporate, commercial and finance sectors to her new position, having fulfilled a range of North East roles with organisations including Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, and she is also diploma qualified in regulated financial planning.
Sarah holds a degree in Business Studies from Northumbria University and works with businesses looking to access growth capital from NEL, explaining how the process works and supporting the investment team in processing the applications they receive.
NEL’s investment team works with businesses across Northumberland, County Durham and Tyne & Wear that are looking for investments from the two parts of the £120m Finance For Business North East Growth Fund that the firm manages, helping them shape their business plans and successfully complete the application process.
The £9m North East Small Loan Fund typically offers loans to regional businesses of up to £100,000, while the £18m North East Growth Capital Fund provides unsecured investments of up to £500,000 to established businesses looking to realise their growth potential.
Susan Snowdon says: “Building strong relationships with management teams and the region’s professional services community is essential to NEL’s long-term success, and it’s an area on which I’ve focussed in many of my previous roles.
“I’d come across NEL during previous roles and knew it was a well-established business that is firmly invested in strengthening the North East economy by enabling regional firms to realise their growth ambitions.
“There’s no shortage of ambition among North East businesses and I’m enjoying working with these firms as they move towards putting their plans into action.”
Jonathan Luke, chief executive at NEL Fund Managers, adds: “Our investment team works to understand how potential investee firms operate, how they might use the capital we have available and what impact it will have in terms of their capacity to grow and create new North East jobs.
“Both Susan and Sarah have made strong starts to their careers with NEL and we’re very pleased to have added them to our team.”
For more information about NEL’s investment criteria, visit www.nel.co.uk or contact the investment team on 0345 369 7007.