The Northern Echo reported that a fund set up to help Corus workers start their own businesses after the mothballing of Teesside Cast Products has helped establish 50 firms in less than three months.

The GBP 600,000 Regeneration Fund was set up by UK Steel Enterprise, a subsidiary of Corus, in the wake of the closure of TCP, which began three months ago. The majority of the businesses the fund has helped so far have been started by Corus workers, or others directly affected by the mothballing.

Mr Nick Johnson regional executive of UKSE said the fact that the fund invested smaller amounts than usual, a combination of grants and loans from GBP 1,000 to GBP 7,500, was one of its advantages. He added that "There doesn't seem to be that much available in smaller amounts for people to access. Most of these will be people who have left TCP. It is too early for them to employ others, they just really want to get the business going. We are quite hopeful some of them will turn into decent businesses and employ a number of people."

The money has been used in a number of ways, including to buy equipment, vehicles, shop fitting and stock. Plans to mothball the plant were first announced in May, when it was thought 2,300 workers could lose their jobs, although a number of factors have driven down the number of compulsory redundancies.

Mr Johnson said that one of the reasons so many had started quickly was because of the uncertainty surrounding TCP since last year. He added that "A lot of them have been planning it for some time, they have been doing research and perhaps making samples. A lot have realized what is coming and knew they had to do something about it."

Mr Simon Hamilton regional manager of UKSE said that "In some cases, we have been able to give people a decision within a week of their initial application. These may be relatively small amounts but people have struggled to find funding elsewhere and in some cases it is enabling them to access finance from other sources as well."

The GBP 600,000 fund is part of a GBP 8.3 million package of support announced by UKSE in early March. It also includes a doubling of investment into new and growing businesses from GBP 1.5 million to GBP 3 million and a GBP 4.7 million extension of the UKSE Innovation Centre in Hartlepool.

(Sourced from www.thenorthernecho.co.uk)