Braveheart unveils £50m fund joint venture in Northern Ireland

INVESTMENT manager Braveheart yesterday laid out details of the joint venture it has set-up to run a £50 million growth loan fund in Northern Ireland.

WhiteRock Capital Partners – which has been launched by Perth-based Braveheart, along with fund managers Clarendon and NEL – will use the fund to provide loans of between £50,000 and £500,000 to small and medium-sized businesses.

Invest Northern Ireland, the regional business development agency, has committed £25m to the fund, with the rest coming from the private sector, including £250,000 from Braveheart.

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Paul Millar will become the first chief investment officer at WhiteRock on Monday. He joins from Bank of Ireland, having previously served with Deloitte & Touche and KPMG.

Geoffrey Thomson, chief executive of Braveheart, said: “We have made considerable progress since announcing our involvement in the NI Growth Loan Fund on 29 February.

“The establishment of WhiteRock Capital Partners is a significant step and underpins our strong relationship with our two partners.

“In Paul Millar, WhiteRock has secured the services of a senior professional in the financial services sector with extensive experience in corporate lending.”

In March, Braveheart bought Neon Capital Partners, which is setting up a similar £48m equity fund for businesses in Yorkshire.

Operating investment funds such as those in Northern Ireland and Yorkshire puts to use the experience that Braveheart gained when helping to set up Scottish Enterprise’s co-investment fund.