Group celebrates securing £1bn to help businesses

A NORTH East business support group has celebrated the milestone of unlocking more than £1bn in investment for the companies it has worked with.

- GAREME WHITFIELD

Durham based UMi - formerly known as the BE Group - works with public and private sector organisations to help ambitious startups, growing SMEs and established companies across the UK, including the North East. It worked with The Journal and accountants UNW on the Let's Grow programme which helped local companies access Government funding to create thousands of jobs.

In the North East, UMi has helped more than 5,000 companies bring in around £800m. It said its work had played a significant part in SME growth within the regional economy as well as generating around 44,000 local jobs.

Chief executive Nicki Clark said: "This is a fantastic achievement and a significant milestone for UMi as we continue to support businesses up and down the country and across all industries.