Private equity firm Foresight Group says it aims to invest £100m into North West companies.
The company’s first fund dedicated to the region invested in 17 companies, including well-known restaurant chain Mowgli Street Food and Cheshire-based laboratory products specialist ONFAB. It says that to date nine companies have exited the portfolio, with average gross returns of 5.4x, while its investments have helped to create some 1,800 jobs across the North West.
Those exits included Foresight selling its investment in Clubhouse Golf to all4golf in 2020 with a 6x return, and the sale of Bolton’s DA Languages to IK Partners in late 2021. It exited Mowgli in January 2023.
Recent investments include a £9.97m deal to support the growth of Trak Global Security Solutions, a Crewe tech firm focused on stolen vehicle recovery. It has also backed tech manufacturer Assembly Contracts Limited, boutique financial planning company Five Wealth and business intelligence platform Red Flag Alert.
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Foresight’s new £100m fund will invest in growing firms based in Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, Liverpool City Region, and North Wales.
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.
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"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.
“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."