There is always a risk when government gives businesses a leg-up, Enterprise Minister Laurence Skelly has admitted.

All the government’s business support schemes have been reviewed after coming under scrutiny.

’Whether it be a grant, whether it be a loan or whether it be equity, there is always a risk element involved,’ he said. ’What we are trying to do here is support businesses to not just locate here but to grow here and stay here and benefit our economy.’

He was speaking as spending in the ill-fated Enterprise Development Scheme once more came under the spotlight in Tynwald last week.

Julie Edge (Onchan) wanted to know how many ’mezzanine’ payments had been made by Spark Impact, which ran the scheme for the government.

Mezzanine finance covers a range of structures, including subordinated debt or preferred equity that may or may not be secured.

Mr Skelly said: ’Since Spark Impact was appointed a scheme manager for the Enterprise Development Scheme in April 2016 it has completed deals with 10 different companies to date.

’A total of 19 separate payments have been made to these companies, totalling £3.33 million.’

He added: ’Of the 19 payments to date, 12 have been equity investments and seven were loans. On the definition I have given and in view of the scheme manager, four loan payments to three different companies took the form of mezzanine financing.’

It was announced last month that a ’mutual decision’ had been made to terminate early Spark Impact’s contract to run the EDS.

Mr Skelly told Tynwald there was a run-off of the scheme until January.

The scheme was in the headlines earlier when it was revealed how little had been issued out of a potential £50 million fund for new businesses - and that just 11 jobs had been created directly as a result.