Foresight announces third close at £90 million of the Foresight North East Fund

5 September 2023

• Foresight announces the third close of the Foresight North East Fund with a £30 million investment from Tyne and Wear Pension Fund
• The Fund was initially cornerstoned by Durham County Council’s Pension Fund, with support from
• Teesside Pension Fund, in June 2022, and announced a second close, with a £20 million commitment from British Business Investments, in April 2023
• The Fund supports small growth companies across the North East and Yorkshire, and is supported by Foresight’s recently opened office on Grey Street, Newcastle

Foresight Group (“Foresight”), a leading listed regional private equity and infrastructure investment manager, is delighted to announce a £30 million investment in the Foresight North East Fund (the “Fund”) from Tyne & Wear Pension Fund.

The Fund was initially cornerstoned by Durham County Council’s Pension Fund, with support from Teesside Pension Fund, in June 2022. The Fund announced a second close, with a £20 million commitment from British Business Investments, in April 2023 – which also followed British Business Investments’ £30 million cornerstone investment in the Foresight Scotland Fund in December 2022.

The Foresight North East Fund supports growth companies – across all sectors, stages and transaction types – with investments of up to £10 million. Companies seeking investment are required to have headquarters or significant operations in County Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Teesside and West Yorkshire.

The additional support from Tyne and Wear Pension Fund will allow further deployment of capital across the North East and Yorkshire; accelerating economic growth, delivering positive social and economic impact, and creating high-quality, local jobs. The Fund has made three investments since it launched in June 2022, with a strong pipeline of further opportunities being considered. Foresight recently opened an office on Grey Street, Newcastle to support the deployment of the Fund.

The Fund is one of many in Foresight’s regional private equity series which, to date, has created thousands of high-quality, local jobs and enabled growth companies across the UK to flourish and positively impact local economies. Foresight’s first regional investment fund, which launched in 2016, has generated gross proceeds of 2.2x from 6 exits alone; 11 companies remain in the portfolio and are still to exit. Mowgli Street Food Ltd., DA Languages and Club House Golf are examples of companies supported by Foresight’s regional fund series; all have delivered strong local impact alongside excellent economic returns for investors and moved onto their next phase of growth.

Matt Smith, Partner and Co-Head of Private Equity at Foresight Group, said: “We are thrilled to announce the third close of the Foresight North East Fund, with a £30 million commitment from Tyne and Wear Pension Fund. We see great potential in the vibrant business community across the North East and Yorkshire, and the support from our investors further strengthens this.

Across the UK and Ireland, we recognise the big impact growth companies can make and want to enable all economies to thrive. Since launching the Fund in June 2022, we have seen many fantastic businesses located across the North East and Yorkshire. This additional support will enable us to support these businesses with their growth plans so that we can drive innovation and growth. We look forward to providing more updates on the Fund.”

Cllr Anne Walsh, Chair of the Pensions Committee at South Tyneside Council, said: “We are delighted to support the many promising small and medium sized businesses, located across the North East and Yorkshire, with a £30 million commitment to the Foresight North East Fund. Similar to Foresight, we see great potential in the businesses located across the region.

Through this investment, we are delighted to contribute to creating high-quality, local jobs, positively impacting the local economy, and, ultimately, positively contributing to the pensions of people in Tyne and Wear.”

Foresight continues to be one of the UK’s most active investors in growth companies. In the past 18 months, Foresight Private Equity announced four new funds, a ventures fund acquisition, and expanded its office network – opening offices in Dublin, Leeds and Newcastle. So far in calendar year 2023, Foresight has invested into over 35 SMEs and has announced a number of successful exits, including Datapath (11.7x money), Mowgli (3.5x money) and GovGrant (4.5x money).

Source: Foresight