Foresight to start deploying new Foresight North East Fund

Investing across all sectors, the new fund will invest up to £5m of equity in established SME business in the North Yorkshire and the North East looking to scale-up.

The fund is targeting a £60m raise and has been made possible through funding from Durham County Council’s Pension Fund, from which £18m has been committed to the launch, with further support from Teesside Pension Fund.

The fund will support companies across all sectors with headquarters or significant operations in County Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Teesside and West Yorkshire. Foresight said in a statement that the fund would “support economic growth and deliver a positive social and economic impact across the region - creating high-quality, local jobs.”

Foresight added it will soon open regional offices in Newcastle and Leeds. It will aim to recruit and develop a local team, who will work with local business communities to deploy the fund.

Foresight is one of the most active investors in small and medium-sized businesses in the UK; it invested in 58 UK SMEs and delivered eight exits in 2021.