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Whiterock launches new £75m growth capital investment fund in Northern Ireland

Press release 26 March 2024

A new £75m equity investment fund for Northern Ireland has been officially launched today by fund manager Whiterock to address the need for growth funding in the local market.

The Growth Capital Fund expects to make investments of between £1m and £5m for minority shareholdings in growth and scaling companies, with capacity for further follow on funding as required.

Whiterock has been operating in Northern Ireland for more than 10 years. It has managed in excess of £150m across four funds and to date has deployed in excess of £120m, which has leveraged over £100m of further funding from other funders.

Owned by a local senior management team, Whiterock has provided debt funding to over 150 SMEs based in Northern Ireland through The Growth Loan Fund I and II, The Growth Finance Fund and more recently the Investment Fund for NI.

Whiterock has now successfully raised its first equity fund, with the British Business Bank investing 60% of the fund (£45m) through its Enterprise Capital Funds programme, and the remaining 40% (£30m) coming from private investors, including several local family offices and high net worth individuals.

Whiterock plans to invest in companies who can demonstrate clear sales growth and routes to market in a wide range of sectors and industries, including Digital, ICT & Creative; Fintech & Financial Services; Life & Health Sciences; Agri-Tech; and Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering.

Whiterock has been actively supporting local businesses for over a decade and our well-established team has a proven track record of deploying funds in the market.

While funding options have improved for companies, independent research has found there is still a clear equity gap in Northern Ireland when it comes to locally based private equity investors, particularly in the £1m-£5m investment range.

The Growth Capital Fund is the largest ever locally managed equity fund for NI companies. It will invest in businesses with strong management teams and a demonstrated and proven business model, which have a high growth potential. We want to be a strategic partner that helps companies achieve their growth ambitions, while also generating attractive returns for our investors.

Paul Millar Chief Executive, Whiterock

The British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds programme is key in helping to develop and maintain effective venture capital provision in the UK, lowering the barriers to entry for emerging fund managers. The programme has backed 46 funds, representing more than £2bn of finance. Our commitment to Whiterock builds on that success and introduces a new funding option for scaling companies in Northern Ireland.

Ken Cooper Managing Director, Venture Solutions, British Business Bank

Graham Ferguson, the former CFO of Newry-based technology company First Derivatives, will join Whiterock as Investment Director to work alongside David McCurley and Paul Millar, also Investment Directors in the fund.

The fund will also be bolstered by the appointment of a number of external consultants and sector experts to provide technical knowledge and experience.

Whiterock expects the fund to be deployed over a five-year investment period, investing in 15-20 companies during that time.

ENDS

Further Information

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Notes to editors

About Whiterock

Whiterock has been operating in Northern Ireland for more than 10 years. It has managed in excess of £150m across four funds and to date has deployed in excess of £120m, which has leveraged over £100m of further funding from other funders. Owned by a local senior management team, Whiterock has provided debt funding to over 150 SMEs based in Northern Ireland through The Growth Loan Fund I and II, The Growth Finance Fund and the Investment Fund for NI.

About the Growth Capital Fund

Whiterock’s Growth Capital Fund makes investments of between £1m and £5m for minority shareholdings in growth and scaling companies, with capacity for further follow on funding as required. Investors in the Fund include the British Business Bank, which has invested 60% of the fund (£45m), with the remaining 40% (£30m) coming from private investors, including several local family offices and high net worth individuals.

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.

The British Business Bank’s core programmes support over £12.4 billion 1  of finance to more than 90,000 smaller businesses 2 .

As well as increasing the supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success.

The British Business Bank is also responsible for administering the government’s three Coronavirus loan schemes and its Future Fund, together responsible for delivering £80.4 billion in finance to 1.67 million businesses. These schemes are now closed to new applications.

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. Wholly owned by HM government, the Bank and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at the British Business Bank.

The British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds (ECFs) are administered by British Business Finance Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Business Bank. The Funds are managed by experienced managers from a variety of backgrounds – including teams from the venture capital industry as well as entrepreneurs with a history of success in building early-stage UK companies.

ECFs are commercially focused funds that bring together private and public money to make equity investments in high growth businesses. The Bank’s rolling investment programme of commitments to new ECFs is a competitive process, with typically two to three investments made per year. The Whiterock Growth Capital Fund is the 46th ECF in the programme.

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