Wales plans regeneration fund with £250m loans

Wales is in talks to develop a European-style fund for regeneration projects that could provide loans of up to £250m.

The fund, which the Welsh government hopes could be operating by 2010, would be funded by government money, European regional aid and private sector cash.

Under the proposal, loans would be repaid and then reissued to other projects to create a legacy of funding, according to the BBC.

Welsh deputy regeneration minister Leighton Andrews said negotiations were underway and that he was “optimistic that we will be able to develop one of the first urban development funds in Europe”.

“This would be a substantial multi-million pound fund run by a professional fund manager, with the Welsh Assembly government and a private sector funder having equal stakes,” he told the BBC.

The private sector partner would be appointed by tender.

An initial investigation of the plans have been completed by property consultants King Sturge, which found “a number of leading financial institutions” were interested in becoming involved.