More than 200 jobs secured by Far North business fund

1st December 2012

The North Highland Regeneration Fund, whose board director is local MP John Thurso, has helped retain and create 218 jobs sinces it was set up in 2006.

The fund is supported by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and is designed to distribute loans to businesses in the Far North. The funding is particularly aimed at new start-ups and to grow existing businesses to help replace the jobs that are being lost as part of the Dounreay decommissioning. It has so far invested £1.8 million in the economy of Caithness and north Sutherland and has helped to sustain and grow businesses which would have otherwise struggled to find credit from high street banks.

Commenting on the work of the fund John Thurso MP said:"We are now at the stage where we are using money that we originally loaned out. The financial collapse has put a huge strain on businesses and people who naturally would have been OK with support from the banks have been coming to us. It is still a tough environment but we have secured almost 220 jobs as a result of the funding that we have given."

"We have supported businesses such as Caithness Biscuits and Reid's of Caithness which have been very successful on the international market. What we will not so is support companies that compete against other firms in this region. Whatever the company does, they have to be exporters and bring wealth to the Far North."

"Our job is to take risks that the banks won't, but whoever we loan money to we work very with, striving to make their business a success."

"We are not the answer to economic regeneration but we are one small part of it designed to help small business and it will continue to recycle money in the future."