LIOF: INNOVATE & INVEST
[BIZ: Maastricht, April 24] On the development and innovations side, LIOF developed EUR 14m worth of projects in the areas of healthcare, systems, materials, and agro/food. EUR 31m were approved including those by the province of Limburg, the ministry of economic affairs -including the peaks in the delta project - and EFRD, with a total of EUR 17m in subsidy being granted. Of 55 proposed innovation projects, 37 were agreed to and among those with a total of EUR 18m, EUR 5.4m in subsidy was awarded. The whole should produce around 400 jobs. On the business park side, 70 hectares of land on new sites were sold and 248 hectares of existing sites were upgraded on time, to meet the objective of 460 and 1,112 hectares before 2011. On the business center side, over the whole of Limburg, LIOF business centers were able to offer space to 200 starters and re-starters, of which 90% employed less than ten. The total available 36,500m2 was accordingly 76% occupied, which is 8% more than was the case in 2007. There is still considerable demand for these flexible, relatively small premises. New business centers are underway in Roermond and Venray. The results in 2008 was EUR 297,120, which is lower than it was in 2007, but in light of the change in circumstances it can be viewed as satisfactory. With equity of EUR 101m and a balance sheet of EUR 167m LIOF is certainly solvent.
Despite the economic downturn in 2008, LIOF can look back on a satisfactory year with 14.5m invested in venture capital in 34 Limburg companies, 37 companies supported in innovative projects, and in the creation of 400 new jobs as a result of investment. In fact, the venture capital has gone to 28 companies and has to be completed in the case of a further six. On the innovative side, the Techstart projects have started and this has meant that LIOF has been able to support 28 new high-tech businesses with a total of 883,000. There were 28 of these companies in the Techstart project in 2006 and 15 have now actually started up.
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