The government is to invest £950m in 119 businesses through its Regional Growth Fund (RGF), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has said.
The investment should protect or create more than 200,000 jobs, according to BIS, and is the second phase of a £1.4bn to restart growth in the UK's neglected regions. The initiative is backed by an additional £6bn of private sector money. In April, 50 projects successfully bid for a total of £450m in investment.
"This targeted support for businesses across the country allows them to expand and create jobs," Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said in a statement accompanying the announcement on Monday.
"People in the rest of Britain have been let down for far too long by governments in thrall to one Square Mile of it.
"The first pot of Regional Growth Fund money is already making a difference across the country - helping to rebalance our economy so that every region and sector benefits."
Some of the projects being supported include an engine research initiative at carmaker Bentley, and an investment in a shopping centre in Bradford.