Steel areas see business growth

The organisation was set up by Corus

An organisation set up to support new businesses in the North East and Cumbria hit by steel closures has reported one of its busiest years yet.

UK Steel Enterprise Ltd was set up by steelmaker Corus to offer help and finance support to small businesses.

Since April the organisation has received requests for £2m of investment from firms in the Tees Valley, Derwentside and west Cumbria.

A spokesman said it was an "excellent sign" for the region's economy.

Regional manager Simon Hamilton said: "The exceptionally busy start to the year is an excellent sign for the North.

"The projects that are coming to us for investment are right across the range of sizes and types.

"They include projects from an electronics company, a heavy engineering business and an environmentally-focused paper and packaging company.

"It is undoubtedly a good sign that companies in the North appear confident about growing their businesses despite the current concerns in some quarters about a credit crunch."