Partner Article

NEL wins Management Contract for £50m Fund

A regional fund manager has won the management contract for a new £50 million investment fund for SMEs in Northern Ireland.

NEL Fund Managers will now work as part of a consortium with Perth-based fund manager Braveheart Investment Group and Clarendon Fund Managers in Belfast to identify investment opportunities over the next five years.

Northern Irish manufacturers and tradable services firms will now be able to bid for investments of between £50,000 and £500,000, in a move which will replicate the mezzanine finance work NEL currently undertakes in the North East.

The new fund is now being initiated by staff from the company’s Newcastle office, and the team is now working to recruit and train a new investment team in Northern Ireland.

It is hoped that the new Fund will help to create a legacy of enhanced business investment experience within the provincial economy.

Barrie Hensby, chief executive at NEL Fund Managers, says: “This is a tremendous achievement for our team, and a real recognition of our expertise that we have consistently demonstrated in successfully identifying, shaping and managing mezzanine finance investment opportunities.

“The three consortium members bring a range of different skills and knowledge to the table, and our collective expertise will make a real difference to Northern Ireland’s SME community.

In the North East, NEL is responsible for the management of a £20 million Finance For Business North East Growth Fund, which aims to help businesses which are in the development and growth stage. To date, the fund has made 34 investments worth more than £5.5 million.

Mr Hensby continued: “The expertise we’ve developed in the North East over two decades has played a crucial role in helping us to secure this contract, and we remain just as focused on making new investments here as we ever have.”

“Our aim is to replicate the investment model we operate in the north east, where providing the capital that regional companies required to implement their expansion plans has helped many of them go on to achieve national and international success.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .