Our Background

Related Pages

With its origins in technology investing, Foresight's broad and growing fund management activities now encompass investing in the private equity, infrastructure and environmental sectors in the UK, Italy and Spain.

Founded in 1984 by the present Chairman, Bernard Fairman, and fellow partner Peter English, Foresight raised a £20 million venture capital fund sponsored by Robert Fleming. The fund invested in unquoted technology companies in the UK, Europe and USA and ultimately distributed a 4x cash return to investors. Building on this success, in 1997 Foresight raised one of the first Venture Capital Trusts ("VCT"), which as Foresight VCT plc still remains the best performing VCT ever launched.* Foresight has since raised several more VCTs and taken over the management of others and is now one of the largest VCT managers in the UK, managing over £235 million through eight VCTs. These funds invest in a broad range of sectors and transaction types and include some of the best performing of their respective vintages.

Having recognised the investment potential in the renewable energy and recycling sectors at an early stage, Foresight monitored developments and in 2006 started investing in the environmental sector in the UK. With growing support from UK and European legislation and increasing public awareness, Foresight has since raised a number of dedicated environmental funds. In 2007, the Foresight Sustainable UK Enterprise Investment Scheme Fund raised £23m from private individuals and in 2011, the Foresight Environmental Fund raised £60 million from UK and international institutional investors, including the London Green Fund supported by the European Investment Bank, to invest in  renewable energy and recycling projects in the London area.

With growing knowledge and experience of the renewable energy sector, in 2009 €35m was raised from private individuals for the Foresight European Solar Fund, which made its first investment in the solar infrastructure sector in Spain. The European solar markets have since grown rapidly and Foresight has established offices in Rome and Madrid through which a number of joint ventures and managed accounts have been established with major European institutional investors to develop new and acquire existing solar plants in Italy and Spain. In 2011 Foresight successfully raised some £50m through the Foresight Solar VCT and Foresight Solar EIS fund for investment in UK solar infrastructure.

In the UK, the infrastructure team has broadened its activities to include not only investing in solar but also investing in other infrastructure, such as acquiring contracts under the Private Finance Initiative and energy efficiency projects. During 2011 Foresight launched the Foresight Infrastructure VCT shares seeking to raise £30m from private investors.

* Tax Efficient Review