£25m Humber Freeport fund unlocks £170m of private investment in key developments

Funding from Humber Freeport has helped unlock more than £170m of private sector investment in projects which aim to stimulate growth in key industrial clusters.

The freeport’s £25m seed capital fund has supported developments across the Humber which are viewed as strategically significant for the region’s economic future.

Recipients of the funding, allocated to Humber Freeport by the Government, include Hull-based manufacturer Ideal Heating, industry skills training provider CATCH, near Grimsby, and Associated British Ports, to support the delivery of the Helm industrial park in Immingham.

Data compiled by Humber Freeport has shown its £25m seed capital fund will act as a catalyst for more than £170m of private sector funding.

It means for every £1m of freeport funding, private sector partners will commit almost £7m to projects which will create jobs, develop skills and broaden local supply chain opportunities.

Humber Freeport CEO Simon Green said: “To see many of the projects supported by the Freeport’s seed capital fund come to fruition has been extremely rewarding.

“Those projects, such as the expansion at CATCH and Ideal Heating’s pioneering UK Technology Centre, will make an important contribution to skills and employment in our region. 

“What has been equally rewarding to see is the catalysing effect of the seed fund. That £25m investment from the Freeport has been an enabler and unlocker of significant private sector funding. Beyond that, it has helped to create the sites, and the skills, which investors are looking for.

“That is exactly what freeports were established to do, and underlines why Government has put them firmly at the heart of its Industrial Strategy.”

Projects which have received an allocation of Humber Freeport’s seed capital fund are:

• A new food processing plant and loading facility at edible oils producer AAK in Hull.

• Associated British Ports’ Helm industrial and manufacturing park in Immingham.

• An expansion of training facilities at industry skills provider CATCH in Stallingborough.

• Reclaiming 1.3 hectares of prime development land, creating 4,000 sq m of high-value employment space, at the former Evans Halshaw site on Holderness Road, Hull.

• HiiROC’s pilot hydrogen facility at Saltend Chemicals Park, east of Hull.

• Infrastructure enhancement work to unlock prime sites at Humber Freeport’s Hull East tax site.

• Ideal Heating’s state-of-the-art UK Technology Centre at its headquarters site in Hull.

Collectively, the projects have received £25m of seed capital funding from Humber Freeport.

Private sector investment in the projects is expected, once completed, to total £170m. When combined, it represents almost £200m of investment in the Humber’s economy, stimulating job creation and skills development.

The impact of the seed capital fund demonstrates the Freeport’s broadening economic impact across the Humber, through both the investments attracted to its sites and its support of skills and innovation pathways.

During a recent visit to the Humber, delegates from UK freeports and Government departments toured Ideal Heating’s UK Technology Centre (UKTC) at the company’s headquarters site in National Avenue, Hull.

The £20m UKTC will accelerate innovation and product development in low-carbon heating solutions such as heat pumps.

Jason Speedy, Ideal Heating’s Chief Operations Officer, said: “Through its seed capital fund, Humber Freeport made an important contribution to the development of our industry-leading UK Technology Centre in Hull.

“The UKTC will serve as a testbed for innovation and product development, helping us advance the low-carbon heating solutions which will keep homes and businesses warm for decades to come.

“The Freeport identified the UKTC as a project which is strategically significant for the region, closely aligned with its own values around innovation, decarbonisation and low-carbon technology.”

After the visit to Ideal Heating, delegates visited CATCH’s expanded training facility and new conference centre in Stallingborough, near Grimsby.

It will support the growth of emerging sectors such as hydrogen, carbon capture and the renewable energy technologies which will support investment and job creation across the Humber industrial cluster.

• Humber Freeport recently launched its new Investment Prospectus, outlining a £3bn development opportunity for the region. You can read the full Prospectus here: www.humberfreeport.org/