Will the Minister provide, for each year the Wales Business Fund has operated, a) the number of firms that relocated to Wales due to the fund and b) the number of jobs created due to those relocations?
The Wales Business Fund launched in 2016 to improve access to growth capital for SMEs in Wales recognising the existing market failures. Since launch to end of September 2023 it has invested £210.7m and supported the creation and safeguarding of 8,548 jobs.
The key focus of the Fund was ensuring dedicated investment in the more deprived West Wales and the Valleys area, where £147.2m of the investment was made into 332 businesses. While the fund tracks a number of additional performance indicators including new products to the firm and private sector leverage, inward investment activity due to the operation of the fund was not tracked. While access to finance, such as that provided by the Wales Business Fund, may be one among the factors shaping business relocation decisions, such decisions usually are complex and multi-faceted. The Development Bank team, however, continues to work closely with Welsh Government colleagues in promoting Wales as an attractive place for investment.