The chairman of Develop North plc, the Newcastle-based investment company, said the economy of the North East of England “is very much on a roll” as his fund published results for the year ended November 30, 2025.

Investment trust expert John Newlands said: “Over the year under report investment income increased to £2.22 million, a 14.6% uplift over the figure for the previous year.

“Importantly, and reflecting the company’s decision to increase its focus on regional projects, 70.3% of funds deployed are now invested in the North East of England.

“This strategic move is critical for two reasons. First, the economy of the North East is very much on a roll. The region entered 2025 as one of the UK’s strongest-performing regional economies, with twelve consecutive months of rising business activity and the highest increase in new business registrations in the country.

“Manufacturing and service output continued to climb, enhanced by infrastructure investment including major upgrades to the A1 corridor, Tees Valley rail networks, and renewable-energy projects such as the Eastern Green Link, strengthening the region’s role as a national hub for clean energy distribution.

“The second reason is that as the company’s ninth year as a listed investment company gathers pace, a major expansion of its operations is in the course of being launched.

“On 9 July 2025 the company announced that the board proposed to change the investment policy and raise further capital to enhance shareholder value through a broader, more diversified portfolio of investments, predominantly focused in the North East of England.”

Develop North delivered Net Asset Value total return for the year of 2.1% (2024: 6.3%). Annualised dividend yield was 5.9%, resulting in £1 million of income distributed to shareholders.

Total dividends for the year were 4p per share. £9.5 million was deployed into nine projects and repayment of three projects, bringing the number of exits to 26 since inception.