There was a 58 per cent increase in the value of equity deals in smaller businesses completed in 2021 in the North East.

The British Business Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker 2021/22 also highlights a six per cent increase in the total number of deals in 2021 compared to 2020.

The success of the North East forms part of an exceptional year for equity deals among the UK’s smaller business community, with 2,616 announced deals completed at a total value of £18.1bn - nearly double that of 2020. In the North East alone, the region saw £150m of investment across 76 announced deals.

Read more: Offshore expert Osbit joins group poised to invest £250m

Newcastle drew in the region’s highest number of equity deals, ranking 11th in the UK’s top 20 equity clusters for deal activity. Between 2019-2021, Newcastle reeled in an average yearly investment value of £70m. This activity was driven by significant deals including Iksuda Therapeutics and QuantuMDX.

County Durham also made the top 20 equity clusters, ranking 16thwith an average yearly investment value of £13m.

British Business Bank equity programmes are estimated to have supported 14% of UK equity deals in 2019-21, with these deals forming 19% of the overall invested equity amount in that period. This was largely driven by the Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF) programme, Regional Angels Programme, British Patient Capital and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF). NPIF has directly invested £332m into 1024 businesses across the North of England, alongside an additional £489m of private sector co-investment, taking its total delivery to more than £800m

Sophie Dale-Black, UK Network director for the North of England at the British Business Bank, said: “It’s encouraging to see such buoyant results for the small business equity market in the North East. There is no doubt this is a step in the right direction and a clear sign of investor confidence in the region.

"Whilst there are signs of this momentum continuing in early 2022, smaller businesses will be mindful of potential economic headwinds in the coming months and year."