An £8.1m pot has been approved to support the growth of the region’s food and drink sector.

The fund is made up of £4m from private sector partners and the Northwest Regional Development Agency, matched with £4m ERDF money. It has been set aside to develop high value sub-sectors of the region’s food and drink economy.

The programme will be managed by Food Northwest, the Northwest’s food and drink cluster organisation and is targeted at key sub-sectors.

It will use the money to create or safeguard 940 jobs, create at least 50 businesses, and provide support and management skills to over 3,000 businesses.

The programme will include a variety of projects that will provide: specialist technical support to smaller businesses; support for regional and speciality food and drink products; help with health and food safety; and support for producers or organic and ethnic foods.

Steven Broomhead, CEO of the NWDA, said: “The North West is not only the country’s largest food and drink-producing region, it is also home to the UK’s highest concentration of food and drink manufacturing businesses. This programme will help the regions food and drink sector to continue to grow and make the most out of high-growth markets.”