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ABOUT FORESIGHT
Foresight Group has been managing
investments on behalf of institutions
and individuals for over 30 years. As
an independent infrastructure and
private equity investment manager,
we have in excess of £1.4 billion AUM
of which more than 80% comprises
infrastructure assets.
Foresight started as a private equity
manager and in recent times has
diversified into infrastructure,
renewable energy and environmental
sectors. Alongside private investors,
Foresight now manages funds on behalf
of the UK Green Investment Bank and
the European Investment Bank as
well as a number of large European
institutions including insurance
companies, pension funds and other
asset managers.
With more than 15,000 investors in our
family of VCT, EIS and BPR products,
we have been managing tax-efficient
investments since 1997, making us one
of the most experienced companies in
the sector.
At Foresight we are well aware of the
need to live up to our name. This
means spotting opportunities ahead of
the crowd; being flexible and innovative;
using the expertise of our people to solve
problems; above all it means being totally
focused on the needs of our investors.
That’s a lot to live up to so we summarise
it in just two words – creative capital. It
is by deploying our financial, intellectual
and emotional capital creatively that we
deliver value for our investors and for
our investee companies.
THE TEAM AND OUR PRODUCTS
Foresight is a partnership led by
Chairman and co-founder Bernard
Fairman, supported by David Hughes,
Chief Investment Officer and Gary
Fraser, Group Finance Director, with
the Infrastructure Team led by Jamie
Richards, Partner. Foresight’s 10
partners have more than 200 years’
investment experience between them.
Foresight has an experienced and
dedicated infrastructure team of more
than 25 professionals managing a
£1 billion portfolio of infrastructure
assets for both institutional and private
investors. The current Foresight ITS
portfolio includes secondary PFI,
renewable energy, smart meters and
energy efficiency projects.
At the time of writing Foresight’s
infrastructure assets include 40
operational solar plants with a capacity
of more than 456MW in the UK, US and
southern Europe, 14 waste projects
under construction or operational in
the UK, and investments in several PFI
projects including 13 schools and 4
hospitals.
Foresight has developed a bespoke and
unique financing arrangement to fund
the roll out of smart meters across the
UK and has created innovative energy
efficiency investment opportunities
within the leisure and industrial sectors.
We recently exited our first Solar EIS
Fund providing investors with a net
return of 132-134p for each 100p
invested not including tax relief.
Recent awards include “Financier of the
Year - 2014 New Energy and Cleantech
awards”, “SME Deal of the Year – Positive
Outcomes – in the 2014 East Midlands
Dealmakers Awards”, “Deal of the Year –
Evermore, in the 2014 Northern Ireland
Dealmakers Awards” while Foresight Solar
Fund Ltd was finalist in the Infrastructure
Fund of the Year category in the
Infrastructure Journal Awards 2014.
OUR INVESTMENT APPROACH
F
oresight aims to invest into shares
in one or more companies which
qualify for BPR and where risks can be
minimised as far as possible with a view
to preserving investors’ capital at all
times. In addition we seek to provide
a modest return on investment where
we, the managers, are compensated
only once we have achieved a 3.5% per
annum return.
We believe infrastructure and asset-
backed companies tick the boxes for
investors looking to minimise risk:
infrastructure due to the long-term
contracted income streams and
excellent asset cover; asset-backed
investments because of the strong risk
weighted yields and security available.
In both instances, the return profile
of these asset classes is not typically
correlated to equities.
We have acquired a diverse range of
infrastructure assets including, ground-
based solar power plants, energy
efficiency assets, secondary PFI projects
and the provision of smart meters,
and currently have some asset-backed
opportunities under consideration.
The investment process has been
developed over many years at Foresight
and is consistently applied to the
selection, approval, due diligence,
negotiation and legal completion for
all new investments. Over the last 30
years Foresight has built an extensive
network of introducing advisers. More
than 500 business plans are received
annually, with typically 50 being put
forward for consideration and a fraction
of those receiving investment.
Due diligence includes reviews by
independent third party experts of
the company’s commercial, technical,
financial and legal affairs, in addition
to a thorough review and referencing
of the management team. At the same
time, an independent law firm will be
retained to draft and negotiate all the
relevant legal documents.
Foresight’s Investment Committee
(IC) ultimately approves all Foresight
investments and is consulted throughout
the investment process by the
Investment Team.
“BPR qualifying investments provide advisers with a useful and
complementary solution to existing mainstream planning routes”
Nick Morgan, Foresight Group
+44 (0)20 3667 1399
