Over the past year, the venture capitalist has ploughed more than £6m into a range of North East businesses from its two funds, Proof of Concept Fund and the Accelerator Fund, and is planning to invest a similar sum before the end of 2015.

Alasdair Greig, director of Northstar Ventures, said: “We are very proud of the investments that we have made over the past few years in innovative North East businesses and are looking forward to building our portfolio further over the next 15 months.

“We want to hear from businesses across the region who could benefit from funding in the coming year. Approaching us is simple – just pick up the phone and speak to one of our investment managers.

“It is not necessary to have an in-depth business plan in place before you contact us. We will work with you to produce this, what we are looking for is a strong team with great ideas.”

Recruitment Force, a Northstar Ventures investee, has received funding from both the Proof of Concept and Accelerator Fund. Eldon Jobe, co-founder of Recruitment Force, added: “Northstar Ventures has been an investor in Recruitment Force since 2010 and their help and support has been invaluable.

“I have really enjoyed working with them throughout the process. The funds have been invested by way of both loan and equity. In order to grow the value of our business, my partner and I realised we needed significant investment to do this, which is when we decided to approach the team.”