Foresight Group’s investments in region top £50m in five years

Foresight Group, the independent infrastructure and private equity investment manager based on Station Road, is celebrating after topping £50m of investment into 14 East of England companies since opening its Cambridge office in 2019.

The office’s success has been underpinned by the simultaneous launch of Foresight’s East of England fund, which is cornerstoned by the Cambridgeshire Pension Fund and targets long-term value growth for investors while creating a permanent pool of capital to fund smaller businesses in the region and beyond.

Foresight’s strategy involves identifying a funding gap: the East of England is home to more than 20,000 small established companies, but while it has historically received venture capital funding for early-stage businesses, prior to Foresight’s East of England Fund and Cambridge office launch, it was less well served by more generalist private equity to support established, smaller companies.

To date, Foresight’s East of England fund has invested more than £43m in nine companies – typically the fund invests £1-10m in established companies with a view to helping management teams deliver their growth ambitions.

In tandem, other growth and venture funds managed by Foresight have supported the journeys of five Cambridge-based earlier stage technology companies with around £7m worth of investment.

Notable deals include a £5.75m investment in Cambrionix, a designer of hardware and software solutions for the global mobile device management market. Cambrionix, which is based at the Maurice Wilkes Building on Cowley Road, has long-standing relationships with leading global technology companies and plays a key role in the current market trend towards shared mobile devices.

An estimated five million devices worldwide are connected to Cambrionix hardware at any one time. Foresight’s 2023 investment will support Cambrionix’s strategy of enabling improved mass deployment of mobile devices.

Matt McLoughlin, director, Foresight, said: “Our Cambridge office has been instrumental in stimulating economic activity across the East of England, and it’s a source of real pride to look back at what we’ve achieved over the last four years.

“Our local investments span the whole region from Cambridge to Peterborough and across Suffolk and Essex.

“Likewise, there’s been a great variation in the market sectors we’re supporting. The East of England has a well-known strong technology sector but we’re also working with some very exciting companies in manufacturing, business services, healthcare and financial services.

“Our East of England Fund and Cambridge office have so far existed across a turbulent backdrop of economic and geopolitical upheaval. However, we have persisted in our mission statement of supporting the region all the way through the economic cycle, working with SMEs wherever they are on their funding journey.

“In 2024 and beyond, we plan to deliver more investment deals that will help firms achieve their potential. We’ve achieved a lot in the past four years, but the exciting news for the East of England is we’re only getting started.”

In total, Foresight’s investments have supported more than 700 jobs across the East of England.