Osborne Clarke advises Foresight on £90 million first close of North West regional investment fund

International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised Foresight Group, a leading FTSE 250 listed private equity and infrastructure investment manager, on the first close of Foresight Regional Investment VIII, its third dedicated regional investment fund for the North West of England at £90 million.

The fund has been launched with investment from Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Clwyd Pension Fund and Merseyside Pension Fund, and will continue to support the growth of small and medium sized companies across the region – creating jobs, driving prosperity and supporting local communities. It will have a hard cap of £130 million and will provide flexible equity investments ranging from £1 million to £15 million, investing across all sectors and transaction types.

Foresight’s investee companies in the North West have created more than 2,100 jobs since the first Regional Investment Fund launched in 2015. The first fund delivered average returns of 4x, supporting the raising of this fund, as well as demonstrating the strength of the North West’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Osborne Clarke team was led by Partner and UK Head of Financial Institutions Group, Helen Parsonage, and included Associate Director, Lizette Hunter and Senior Associate, Nick Kristensen.

“We were delighted to support Foresight on their latest regional fund, which allows it to build on previous successful iterations and do even more to support growing businesses in the North West. In only a decade since the first North West fund was launched and its Manchester office opened, Foresight has already invested in over 30 companies across the region and helped create thousands of jobs. We look forward to seeing what this latest fund achieves.”

Helen Parsonage, Partner, Osborne Clarke.

"Osborne Clarke worked seamlessly with our IR and finance teams to help us launch this fund. They truly understand how Foresight operates, which always makes working with Osborne Clarke an efficient and effective experience for us."

Claire Alvarez, Partner, Foresight.

This marks the fifteenth regional fund on which Osborne Clarke has advised Foresight.

Osborne Clarke is a leading European law firm with a widely recognised international funds practice, advising household names as well as emerging managers on fund formations and related matters. The team advises across asset classes including private equity, venture, real estate and hedge funds and has clients investing across sectors including financial services; technology, media and telecoms; energy and infrastructure and the built environment. The team has a particular interest in funds with a social impact angle.