Heather Lindsay, senior SME finance manager at the LDA, says: ‘This extra funding will enable g2i to extend its reach into the creative and other key sectors, helping companies to raise the investment they need.’

g2i was launched in 2005 to advise technology companies seeking development capital of between £50,000 and £2 million. Its original three-year contract has now been extended to December 2008.

Its programme is led by accountancy and advisory firm Grant Thornton, and supported by other partners including venture capitalist E-Synergy. With the new funding, advisory firm Pembridge Partners, which focuses on the creative sector, will join the programme.

Manager of g2i, Grant Thornton’s Simon Littlewood, comments: ‘In today’s market it makes sense to broaden [g2i’s] remit into new sectors. Convergence is a real force in the business world and the overlap in sectors such as media, technology and creativity is increasing.’