Bank backing business on Teesside; The Co-operative Bank in association with.

RECENT funding for Teesside-based technology solutions provider Onyx and a management buyout (MBO) of Mill Garages reflect record levels of investment in Teesside and the wider North-east by the Co-operative Bank.

The bank's corporate banking centre (CBC) in Newcastle provided multi-million pound funding to Onyx to finance initiatives including the acquisition of Dundas IT, an IT firm providing managed IT services for customers in professional services. Onyx has two offices in the North-east and data centres in Middlesbrough and Newcastle.

And the CBC also provided working capital for the MBO at Mill Garages including its five dealerships at Stockton, Newcastle, Hexham, Sunderland and Harrogate.

The North East CBC also funded a management buy-in (MBI) at SBV Fabrication and Site Services Limited, a Teesside-based steel fabrication and machining business with sites in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool.

Jeff Fryer, business development manager at the North East CBC, lives on Teesside and said: "I've been involved with and a big supporter of Tees Pride since its inception and the Co-operative Bank is delighted to be a sponsor of the initiative.

"It's pleasing to support established Teesside businesses such as Onyx and our increasingly strong balance sheet gives us the financial strength to fund such deals.

"Despite the difficult economic climate, we're very much open for business and in a strong position to lend to businesses with impressive track records and strategies for the future."

The bank's corporate banking division enjoyed a record half-year in the first half of 2008 with lending balances of pounds 3.6bn in 2008, a 25.2% rise on the equivalent period of 2007.

The bank has rejected more than pounds 1bn of unethical investments since launching its ethical policy in 1992 while investing more than pounds 4.4bn in UK businesses.