BUSINESS angels in Yorkshire have been given more power to their wings with a £50,000 boost from Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency.

The more than 80 member Yorkshire Association of Business Angels (YABA) secured the grant after months of talks with Yorkshire Forward.

The cash will help YABA to promote and extend its work of supporting fledgling entrepreneurs with investment and advice across the county for the next two years.

Peter Wells, YABA chairman, said his organisation was ideally placed to take a strategic role in the county's business support network.

He said: "The Business Angels are vital to Yorkshire's commercial life because entrepreneurs have very limited resources to draw upon when they need to fund their activities - especially if they need investment in the tens of thousands, rather than the hundreds of thousands.

"YABA provides finance in the gap in the marketplace below venture capital funding level."

YABA, now five years old and funded by subscriptions, holds networking evenings where venturers can present their case for cash or advice. About ten per cent of start-ups win funding, ranging from £10,000 to £500,000.

With the Yorkshire Forward grant, YABA will be able to extend its networking evenings to beyond its previous core area of York, Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield to other parts of the county, including Northallerton.