An award-winning North East cash management firm set up by the founders of start-up bank GBB is ready for the next stage of its development after securing a six-figure investment from the North East Growth Capital Fund supported by The European Regional Development Fund.

Cascade Cash Management is the UK’s first cloud-based savings platform and is unique in providing savers with direct access to all accounts and all providers on the market.

The Wallsend-headquartered firm provides an independent and transparent savings service which generates enhanced cash returns and increased depositor protection through professional cash management.

It has already managed more than £1bn of customer assets, with over £200m currently under its administration, and has a network of over 3,500 financial advisers right across the UK that are using its platform.

Cascade has now worked with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to bring in the £150,000 Growth Capital Fund investment, which it is using to make further investments in the technologies which support its savings platform and enhance its business development activities.

New jobs in sales, finance and administration are expected to be created next year as the business grows.

Founded in 2015 by Dr Emma Black and her brother and business partner Stephen, Cascade Cash Management is the only service of its kind to track every bank and building society in the market to help clients secure the best possible outcomes from their cash.

Cascade helps clients, who include individuals, companies and charities, complete the onboarding paperwork for each bank and building society selected, with savers then able to view their savings in one place via the Cascade portal and access support from the team where required.

Each account is set up in the customer’s name, rather than through a nominee account held by Cascade, to ensure they retain total control of their money.

Carl Swansbury, partner and head of corporate finance at business advisory firm Ryecroft Glenton, recommended NEL Fund Managers to Cascade Cash Management.

Dr Emma Black says: “Cascade was set up to address the inertia in the UK savings market, which is estimated to be worth around £3tn, and to enable individuals, businesses and charities to get the best available returns on their cash, rather than leaving it lying inactively in the same unrewarding accounts.

“Our systems monitor one of the world’s largest sterling cash datasets on a daily basis, which makes it easy for us to identify and access the best combination of rates and returns for clients, whatever their preferences and objectives might be.

“Our competitors aren’t able to provide this degree of insight and agility, while the fact that the accounts we open on clients’ behalf are in their name, rather than ours, means they retain total control over their assets.

“We built the platform ourselves and have proved over several years that it delivers on the promises that we make to our clients, so now want to invest more in developing the technologies that underpin it and further enhance the breadth and effectiveness of the services we offer.

“NEL’s investment offering was a really good fit with our requirements and the team helped to make securing this growth capital a pretty straightforward process.”

Jane Siddle, senior investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, adds: “Cascade has brought a fresh new approach to the UK savings market and is making technology and service investments that will further enhance clients’ access to the best available savings accounts and products.”

NEL Fund Managers has been accredited under the Recovery Loan Scheme by the British Business Bank to provide loans of between £25,001 and £250,000 to regional firms as part of its wider investment offering of up to £500,000.

The North East Growth Capital Fund has been designed to create around 790 jobs in more than 70 regional firms over the life of the programme and offers unsecured investments of up to £500,000 to established businesses looking to realise their growth potential.

The overarching £120m North East Fund will provide financial support for more than 600 businesses, creating around 3,500 jobs and delivering a legacy of up to £80m for further investment into the region.

For more information about NEL’s investment criteria, visit www.nel.co.uk or contact the investment team on 0345 369 7007.