The private equity team at Foresight Private Equity invested over GBP17 million into nine companies across the UK during the last quarter of 2016.
The Foresight Regional Investment Fund, targeting companies in the North West of England, North Wales and South Yorkshire, supported by Foresight’s new Manchester office, has already deployed one third of funds within its first 12 months and has a strong pipeline of investment opportunities under consideration.
The Foresight Nottingham Fund has now made investments into 12 companies and is over 50 per cent deployed. Portfolio company TheIdleMan.com announced a further investment from Channel 4 in the form of an innovative media for equity deal. New investments in the final quarter included Nottingham-based PlayerLayer, S4RB, Idio and Ekkosense.
In November, Foresight launched the Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund, a collaboration between Foresight and Williams Advanced Engineering, the subsidiary of Williams Grand Prix Engineering. This fund will target investments into early-stage, unquoted companies that are developing disruptive technology and pioneering innovations.
Foresight partner and head of private equity Russell Healey says: “2016 will go down as one of the most industrious years for the Private Equity team at Foresight. Since the referendum in June when the UK voted to leave the European Union, amidst all the ensuing political and economic turmoil, we have seen continuing strong demand for growth funding from quality UK SMEs and we expect the forthcoming tax year end will see strong demand from private investors for tax-efficient VCT and EIS opportunities.”
