Osborne Clarke advises Foresight on launch of £50m new fund to support growing companies across the South West

International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised Foresight Group ("Foresight"), a leading FTSE 250 listed private equity and infrastructure investment manager, on the launch of an evergreen fund dedicated to investing into growing companies across the South West of England ("the Fund").

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.

The Fund has been launched with a cornerstone investment from Devon Pension Fund and will support the growth of small and medium sized companies ("SMEs") across all sectors and transaction types throughout South West England. This includes Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Designed to be evergreen, the Fund will provide a permanent pool of capital for which SMEs can formulate long-term plans, tailoring investments to meet the needs and ambitions of each company. Foresight will open offices in Bristol and Exeter to support the deployment of the Fund.

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

Matt Smith, Partner at Foresight Group, commented: “It's been a pleasure working with the team from Osborne Clarke once again as we launch this South West of England dedicated fund with support from Devon Pension Fund. We look forward to embedding ourselves in the local community and supporting growing companies across the region.  Our investment approach is to work collaboratively with entrepreneurs and the broader local business community. We look forward to providing further updates on this exciting fund."

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.

Osborne Clarke’s private equity team is a go-to practice for many companies in the technology, media and telecoms sector, working with clients ranging from global businesses to fast-growth start-ups. The team advises at every stage of company development across all corporate issues, from equity and debt fundraisings to M&A, IPOs and JVs.