LONDON, UK: Foresight Group Holdings Limited, a leading infrastructure and private equity manager, announced that it has been appointed by Allied Irish Banks (“AIB”), Ireland’s largest financial services provider, to manage a new small and medium-sized enterprise (“SME”) equity fund.
AIB will be a cornerstone investor in the Fund, which aims to stimulate job creation and deliver a greener future. The Fund will typically provide equity investments of €2 million to €5 million and will support Irish businesses to contribute to a more sustainable future.
AIB has signed an initial commitment of €30 million to the Fund1, which will target a total raise of €75 million over time. Foresight will shortly open an office in Dublin to support the delivery of the Fund and is actively seeking investment opportunities. This is Foresight’s first expansion into the Republic of Ireland and the first fund outside of the UK for its Private Equity team. The Dublin office will be Foresight’s thirteenth office across what will be seven countries, including the Republic of Ireland.
The Fund is positioned to benefit from Foresight’s breadth of experience across both its Private Equity and Infrastructure divisions, leveraging each of their specialisms to deliver attractive, risk-adjusted returns to its investors.
Bernard Fairman, Executive Chairman of Foresight Group Holdings Limited, commented: “As a sustainability-led alternative asset and private equity manager, Foresight has been supporting UK SMEs for many years, including in their transition to a low-carbon economy. We are delighted to now be partnering with AIB to expand this support to SMEs across Ireland.
“The AIB Foresight Impact Fund represents an exciting new partnership and geographic expansion for the Group and is further evidence of the tangible progress we are making towards delivering our strategic growth plans.”
Foresight Group was founded in 1984 and is a leading infrastructure and private equity investment manager, operating from 12 offices across six countries in Europe and Australia with AUM of £8.7 billion as of 31 March 2022. With a long-established focus on ESG and sustainability-led strategies, it aims to provide attractive returns to its institutional and private investors from hard-to-access private markets.
Foresight Group manages over 300 infrastructure assets with a focus on solar and onshore wind assets, bioenergy and waste, as well as renewable energy enabling projects, energy efficiency management solutions, social and core infrastructure projects and sustainable forestry assets. Its private equity team manages eight regionally focused investment funds across the UK, supporting over 120 SMEs. Foresight Capital Management manages four strategies across six investment vehicles with an AUM of over £1.6 billion. It has made over 270 clean energy investments to date.
Foresight Group listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in February 2021.
Leave a Reply