Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF) has backed a £4m package to help a Cheshire company relocate into Merseyside.
Warrington-based Jade Communications, which installs IT equipment, wireless systems and other technologies, will move to St Helens in the next few months.
MSIF’s Venture fund, set up to help regeneration and job creation in Merseyside, has contributed £1m to the package despite the fact no new jobs are being created.MSIF says it believes the company will grow and that jobs may well be created in the coming months.
A spokeswoman said: “When we back a business we look at its prospects over a three-year period.”
Jade employs 100 staff and operates across a wide range of industries including education, finance, government, healthcare, hospitality, logistics and retail. All its workers will relocate from Warrington.
As well as cash from MSIF, the package was also backed the Royal Bank of Scotland, Eurosales Finance and the managing director of Jade, Mark Brackley.
Jade Communications was acquired from private shareholders advised by Dow Schofield Watts.
St Helens-born Mr Brackley said: “The backing is a tremendous boost for the business and we are delighted to be relocating to Merseyside. The investment and the new appointments to the team mean we can now continue to develop our customer base and range of products and services.”
This year’s turnover is on target to reach £10m and management expect this to rise to £15m over the next three years. Two new directors have been appointed. They are Paul Dean, formerly Jade’s UK sales manager, and David Sharratt, who joins the company from one of the UK’s leading wireless and hand-held product suppliers, Symbol UK.
Jade’s clients include Debenhams, Gist, Homebase, HSBC, Manchester Metropolitan University, Marks & Spencer, McDonald’s and Tesco.
Simon Thelwall-Jones, investment director of MSIF’s Venture Fund, said: “Jade is an exciting business with a highly skilled team. We are pleased to have supported the move to Merseyside, the company has good potential and we look forward to assisting it to progress.”