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UK tech gets £30m Xmas bonus
Peter Mandelson unveils funding for tech SMEs...

By Tim Ferguson

Published: Tuesday 02 December 2008

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has unveiled a £30m investment fund for UK technology businesses looking to expand.

Tech Hotspots: The list

1. Silicon Valley
2. Bangalore
3. London
4. Tokyo
5. Boston
6. Cambridge
7. Shanghai
8. Tel Aviv
9. Seoul
10.Beijing
11.Chennai
12.Pune
13.Singapore
14.Helsinki
15.Moscow
16.Hong Kong
17.Hyderabad
18.New York
19.Sydney
20.Shenzhen

The government is hoping its cash injection will attract further investment from the private sector to fund the development of SMEs specialising in IT, electronics and instrumentation.

The fund is part of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform's (Berr) Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF) programme.

ECF grants supply equity finance of up to £2m to SMEs with the potential for high growth that would otherwise find it tough to secure such financial backing.

The government has set aside £60m per year for the ECF programme in total.

Mandelson said in a statement: "It is crucial small and medium sized firms looking to invest in and grow their businesses are able to access the finance they need."

Capital for Enterprise Limited (CfEL), the Berr-owned asset management business responsible for managing the SME investment programme, awarded the management of the fund to TTP Ventures, an IT and tech VC company.

CfEL has set up 22 funds in the past six years covering £600m of SME equity finance, or 12 per cent of the total in the sector since 1996.