A York accountancy firm has secured a six-figure loan from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund to support its continued growth following its acquisition of another local practice.

The funding for Change Accountants is the first deal in York by the £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, which is managed by Mercia Debt.

The Fulford-based firm has recently doubled in size with the acquisition of Sunley & Co in Acomb. The two practices - which between them employ 12 staff and serve around 800 clients - will continue to operate as separate brands under the direction of Change Accountants’ founder Stacey McVeighty. The funding will enable her to strengthen the management team and invest in technology and training to continue the growth of the business.

A qualified accountant with over 25 years’ experience, Stacey established the practice in 2014. Change Accountants has been paperless from the start, and prides itself on keeping up to date with the latest technology and on being a fair employer, offering staff benefits such as unlimited holidays.

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In addition to the standard services such as accounts, tax, VAT and payroll, it produces specialist data to enable clients to create reports such as carbon calculations to comply with the requirements of tender frameworks.

Stacey McVeighty said: “The acquisition of Sunley & Co will boost our growth through the addition of an experienced team and enable us to benefit from economies of scale. The funding will allow us to build on that by investing in new technologies and skills to ensure we stay at the forefront of developments in the changing accountancy landscape.”

Andy Clough of finance company Mercia added: “Stacey has built up a successful practice that has been growing steadily and has now doubled in size following the recent acquisition. The loan will enable her to further develop the expertise and services the business can offer as Change Accountants begins a fresh chapter in its growth story.”

NPIF II covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

Lizzy Upton at British Business Bank, said: “The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is designed to help small business owners achieve their ambitions and, through this loan, Change Accountants will be able to expand the business’ presence in York and service growing demand across the city.”

The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the North of England. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.