The Scottish Partnership for Regeneration in Urban Centres (SPRUCE) has received £25m to help fund a wide range of commercial and industrial projects.

A precursor to the Scottish Investment Bank, the Building Scotland Fund is available to non-public sector organisations - including businesses, housing associations and universities - to support the development of house building across all tenures, develop industrial and commercial space and support business-led research and development.

Public finance minister Kate Forbes announced the funding as she visited the Western Campus development at Strathclyde Business Park in Bellshill.

Ms Forbes said: “SPRUCE is a well-established investment vehicle, with eleven projects funded to date totalling around £73m. A recent evaluation of the work of SPRUCE recommended increasing the size of the fund to deliver more regeneration projects.

“Therefore I am pleased this additional £25m from the Building Scotland Fund will enable more projects around Scotland to receive financial support.

“The Western Campus is a great example of the type of project the funding can help. They have contributed to the transformation of a previously unproductive site, which now has 15 industrial units and supports 150 jobs.”

Murray Collins, managing director of Fusion Assets Ltd, which is based at Strathclyde Business Park, added: “At a time where access to development finance is very limited, SPRUCE has proved to be almost unique in its willingness to fund speculative industrial developments. It has been integral to the success in realising the development schemes in North Lanarkshire, in the process levering in additional public and private finance and ultimately bringing new and additional jobs to the area.”