Regional private equity and infrastructure investment manager, Foresight, said it is ready to invest more than £100m in the North West.
Having supported the successful growth of a number of companies, including Liverpool-based Mowgli Street Food, Cheshire-based laboratory products specialist ONFAB, Bolton-based community driven healthcare service provider ABL, and Manchester translation services provider DA Languages, Foresight is investing in growing companies based in Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, Liverpool City Region, and North Wales.
Foresight invests in regional growth and buyout deals and supports founders and management teams looking to responsibly grow their businesses or release equity and de-risk. It also invests venture capital funds into fast-growing companies looking to grow sustainably, at pace.
Recent investments include a £9.97m deal to support the growth of Trak Global Security Solutions, a technology business based in Crewe focused on stolen vehicle recovery, tech manufacturer Assembly Contracts Limited, boutique financial planning company Five Wealth, and business intelligence platform Red Flag Alert.
Claire Alvarez, Partner at Foresight Group, said: “The North West is a brilliant region to grow a business and we have been privileged to work with some incredible entrepreneurs and outstanding companies across a wide variety of sectors.
“Over the last seven years since we opened our Manchester office, we have built a strong regional team who are passionate about helping growing companies to create jobs and support communities across the region.
“We know conditions in the wider economy have been challenging in recent years, but even in challenging times there are some outstanding growing companies across the region – in both the traditional and knowledge economy.”
She added: “While we have an encouraging pipeline of investments, we are always keen to build our network, so even if a deal may be some time away, we are always happy to meet business owners and their advisers to discuss options.
“Alongside investment, we have a large network of experienced non-executives who can help founders and management teams achieve their business ambitions by supporting them with advice, mentoring and, of course, their own industry connections.”
Foresight’s first fund dedicated to the North West invested in 17 companies, including Mowgli Street Food, Clubhouse Golf and DA Languages. To date, nine companies have exited this portfolio, with average gross returns to date being 5.4x money.
This fund has also helped to create more than 1,800 jobs across the region.
Its second fund dedicated to the North West has more than £100m to invest growing companies, enabling founders and managements to achieve their business ambitions.