Foresight Group (Foresight) has appointed Ray Harris to its Private Equity Investment team, following Ben Dawson’s appointment earlier this year.
Harris joins Foresight as a Principal on the recently awarded GBP35 million equity fund (for the East and South-East Midlands) from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) delivered by the British Business Bank. He will be based in Foresight’s Nottingham office and the recently opened Leicester office. Harris’s appointment adds strength to the senior investment team in the region after Ben Dawson joined the team as Senior Investment Manager in January this year.
Previously a Director at Odyssey Corporate Finance in Birmingham, Harris has a solid private equity background and over 20 years’ experience advising or completing deals within the East and West Midlands. He has developed a strong reputation throughout the corporate finance sector in the region, supported by a track record of 75 deals concluded to date.
Dawson was previously a Director in Structured Finance at Royal Bank of Scotland, and has over 15 years’ experience of working in corporate finance in the Midlands.
Dawson’s responsibilities are to work across the range of funds managed by Foresight, but with a particular focus on the Foresight Nottingham Fund as it comes to the end of its investment period later this year.
Foresight was recently appointed an equity fund manager for MEIF as the British Business Bank (BBB) launched up to GBP100 million of equity funding for the region. Foresight will make investments of between circa GBP100,000 and GBP2 million in growing small and medium sized businesses across the East and South-East Midlands.
Russell Healey, Partner and Head of Private Equity at Foresight, says: “We are delighted to welcome Ray into the team. His expertise will be invaluable in deploying MEIF and increasing our presence in the region. In just a few months, Ben has become a strong addition to the team, sourcing deals for MEIF and the Foresight Nottingham Fund. With this strengthened team and a number of deals in the pipeline, we are confident that the deployment of the MEIF funding will have a great start.”
Harris adds: “The Midlands is a real hub for up and coming SMEs with a confident business environment and the plenty of opportunity to expand and invest. Foresight has some great success stories in the area and I look forward to being part of the team.”
Dawson says: “My first few months at Foresight have definitely been exciting and I really enjoy being part of such a dynamic team. My expertise is in the Midlands region and it will be a pleasure to assist Foresight as they focus on deals throughout the region.”
