A former Bradford business leader and Skipton MP has joined the board of a £90 million loan fund which will help companies across the region.

John Watson has been appointed a director of Finance Yorkshire which is being launched by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency.

It will support the development of businesses. It is set to complete a four-year investment programme by December, 2013.

The fund will build on the success of the Partnership Investment Fund (PIF), which provided support to firms in Objective 2 areas, including Bradford, and South Yorkshire Investment Fund (SYIF), which have both completed their activities.

Finance Yorkshire will provide seedcorn funding, loans and equity- linked investments of £15,000 to £2 million to help businesses meet funding gaps.

Mr Watson, 66, has been chairman of Partnership Investment Finance for three years. He is a former president of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, was deputy chairman of the Yorkshire Building Society and chief executive of urban regeneration company, Bradford City Challenge.

He was MP for Skipton between 1979 and 1987.

Also on the Finance Yorkshire board is Peter Myers, chief executive of West Yorkshire Tourism, who is a former banker.

The fund, chaired by South Yorkshire businessman and Sheffield’s Master Cutler James Newman, was launched last week by Regional Minister Rosie Winterton.