A new £50m fund to support the creation of new industrial and employment sites across the Cardiff Capital Region has been approved.
The £50m investment fund for strategic premises, from the Welsh and UK government funded £1.3bn City Deal, has been approved by the regional cabinet made of the region’s 10 local authority leaders.
The fund will support the delivery of the region’s industrial and economic plan with early stage finance for the development of new sites and employment premises that allow new and existing businesses to scale up.
CBRE have been appointed as fund advisors. The fund, which will be repayable finance with the aim of becoming evergreen, is expected to be operational by May.
There has also been strong interest in the region’s £35m Homes for the Region Viability Gap Fund.
The fund, with a £5m contribution from the Welsh Government outside of the region's City Deal, aims to support the realisation of stalled housing developments. Following further due diligence a full and final list of sites will be announced in June following January's application deadline.
If successful the shortlisted schemes are projected to deliver 2,768 homes across the region, supporting 3,360 jobs and attracting £530m private investment.
Andrew Morgan, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council and regional cabinet board member said:
“We are delighted to be able to announce such positive progress on these initiatives all of which will ensure that we hold our promise of delivering for all of the region at a time when the regional economy needs the boost of significant investment in infrastructure.”
