ONE of Europe’s biggest pension funds has provided cornerstone backing to a £60 million fund dedicated to supporting small and medium-sized businesses in Scotland.
Investment from the Strathclyde Pension Fund, which has £28 billion of investments, underpins the latest regional fund deployed by Foresight Group, a listed regional private equity and infrastructure investment manager.
The new fund, which is also backed by British Business Investments, a subsidiary of the British Business Bank, will target debt and equity investments ranging from £1m to £5m in Scottish SMEs that exhibit growth potential across a wide variety of sectors. It is hoped that the investments will support the Scottish economy through the creation of high-quality local jobs at the firms that receive the backing.
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Foresight declared the fund will help firms realise their growth potential and said its 10 regional funds to date have helped create thousands of jobs in the UK.
It previously launched the £32m Foresight Scottish Growth Fund with the support of the Scottish Government in 2019, and declared that investors had made 16 times their original investment in Codeplay, the Edinburgh-based software company, after exiting in summer 2022.
Matt Smith, partner at Foresight Group, said: “We are very pleased to be launching this fund in partnership with British Business Investments and Strathclyde Pension Fund. We look forward to delivering a positive impact and working with exciting growth SMEs throughout Scotland to create value and jobs.
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“The fund reflects our commitment to the Scottish market, where we believe there is a funding gap for the provision of capital and expertise to smaller companies. We look forward to strengthening our ties with the local business community further building our local team."
The Strathclyde fund holds investments on behalf of more than 266,000 members from 160 employers.
Ian Jamison, investment manager at Strathclyde Pension Fund, said: “We are pleased to have been able to support the launch of the Foresight Scotland Fund. The fund is a great opportunity to help growth within small and medium businesses across Scotland, which in turn will create local jobs and attract further investment, supporting economic growth whilst generating strong returns for our pension fund members.”
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