Avon Pension Fund is excited to announce a £50 million commitment to invest in local businesses. Investment manager, Foresight, will put Avon Pension Fund’s money to work, creating high-quality local jobs and driving business innovation in the region.
Building on our existing investments in local renewable energy assets and general needs affordable housing schemes, this latest commitment brings our total local investments to over £150 million.
The south-west offers abundant opportunities, and we are dedicated to supporting small and growing companies in the region. Our investments will help these businesses achieve their ambitions, support the local economy, and deliver positive social outcomes. We will invest across a broad range of sectors, tailoring our support to meet the needs and plans of each company. This commitment will strengthen the business community in the region for the long-term, while delivering strong returns for our members.
There is a demand for funding for small and medium sized companies, and investment is crucial to ensure local businesses can reach their full potential. We’re very pleased to support this fund with a £50 million commitment.
We see great potential in the businesses located across the region and we believe this Fund will support the creation of high-quality, local jobs and positively impact the local economy.
This local business investment is made in partnership with Devon Pension Fund; a Brunel fund that shares our goal of generating positive environmental and social impacts in the region.
Amy Crofton pictured in Bristol with Councillor Paul Crossley, Committee Chair
Meet the team managing this new investment
We sat down with Amy Crofton, Foresight MD, who’ll be leading the team managing our new local investment.
Q. Tell us about your first impressions of the south-west region region.
A. We know the region is dynamic with a thriving community of small companies and entrepreneurs. We see it as an exciting time to support businesses on their journey and help drive growth across the region. We have experience working with local businesses such as Open Bionics, Insphere and Family Adventures Group.
Q. How will Avon Pension Fund’s investment help the local economy?
A. We are opening two new offices in Bristol and Exeter, so, to start, we are creating new jobs in the area through our own business.
There is strong alignment between our local government pension scheme investors, such as Avon Pension Fund, and the companies we support. We will continually reinvest proceeds, giving local businesses a reliable and sustainable source of capital so that they can make long-term plans.
Q. What are some of the challenges you face investing in smaller companies and how do you expect to overcome them?
A. Helpfully, with our track record of making regional investments we’ve broadly seen and worked through most challenges before.
A typical challenge we encounter is that the businesses we invest in are often led by a very capable individual or small group of individuals, who require support for the next leg of the journey. We are very experienced in building management teams to ensure the appropriate foundations are in place, and we often partner smaller ambitious companies and management teams with experienced individuals who have already been through the scale-up journey.
The pipeline of potential investments is very exciting, and we look forward to sharing more in due course.
Our members’ LGPS pension benefits are guaranteed by law and do not depend on investment performance.