A £160m super fund which will aim to create thousands of North-East jobs has stepped up its development with the appointment of a full time deputy project director.

Estelle Blanks, formerly of Newcastle Science City, will help to oversee the JEREMIE2 venture capital fund, which opens for business in 2016.

It follows JEREMIE1, hailed the most successful fund of its type in the UK, which has invested about £110m in 650 North-East companies and secured more than £120m in investment from the private sector since it started in 2010.

Among the businesses it has backed is Applied Graphene Materials based at the Wilton site, near Redcar, which is at the forefront of the region’s bid to commercialise ‘wonder material’ graphene.

Ms Blanks, said: “JEREMIE2 will build on the work of the original fund, which has provided much-needed investment for businesses across both Local Enterprise Partnership areas over the past four years. In addition it will have created 5,000 jobs and safeguarded a further 2,800 posts by the end of this year.

“Confirmation that JEREMIE2 will continue this vital financial support through loans and equity investments is hugely exciting. I am now working with the two LEPs, the project team and project board to plan for a seamless transition between the current and the new JEREMIE funds.”

The current fund provides investment through seven different funds targeting firms across a range of sectors from high growth potential start-ups to larger businesses that need cash for further development.

It is envisaged that JEREMIE2 will bring together EU structural funds, legacy returns from earlier regional schemes and financing from the European Investment Bank. Development costs for the new fund are being part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and through funding from historical legacies built up as a result of the success of previous investment initiatives in the region.

The Local Enterprise partnerships for the north and south of the region have joined forces to ensure the funding has maximum impact from the Tees to the Tweed.

Sandy Anderson, chair of Tees Valley Unlimited, said: “The JEREMIE 2 programme now has real momentum and we are committed to working with our colleagues at the North East LEP to deliver a new investment programme which will benefit growth businesses here in the Tees Valley.”

Paul Woolston, chair of the North East LEP, said: “Working with our colleagues at Tees Valley LEP means we will be able to promote the funding available through JEREMIE2 to businesses across the region.

“The first JEREMIE fund has made an enormous difference to the North East economy and we’re delighted the Government and the European Investment Bank are supportive of our vision to use the new fund as part of our plans to bring further growth to the region.”