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Northern Ireland Growth Fund pitches Connecticut pension investment modeled on New York
Summary
Representatives from the Northern Ireland Growth Fund and Crescent Capital described a proposed £100 million development capital fund targeting the six counties of Northern Ireland and six adjacent border counties and asked the Connecticut commission to explore meeting state investment officials about co-investment opportunities.
Representatives of the Northern Ireland Growth Fund and Crescent Capital asked the Connecticut-Ireland Trade Commission to consider exploring pension-fund investment into a development capital fund that targets Northern Ireland and adjacent Irish border counties.
Colin Walsh, CEO of Crescent Capital, described the fund as “a £100,000,000 development capital fund” to be run from Belfast and said the target area includes the six counties of Northern Ireland and the six border counties in the Republic of Ireland (Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim, Louth and Sligo). He said the combined population of the target area is “coming up on 2.5 million people,” with about 1.9 million in Northern Ireland and just over 500,000 in the border counties.
Martino Muir (Northern Ireland Growth Fund representative) and Walsh summarized the fund’s prior performance and regional impact: earlier funds invested in 38 companies and, they said, helped create more than 2,000 direct jobs across three funds. The presenters said prior investors have included public pension funds and local U.S. counties, and they cited New York State’s common retirement fund as an example of a public-plan commitment that has been successful in the region.
Commissioners asked about investment criteria and community impact. Walsh and Muir said the fund looks for open, export-oriented businesses and that legal protections prohibit religious discrimination in employment; they also said they prefer companies that welcome trade-union participation. They said earlier funds concentrated on manufacturing and exporting but that the remit for the proposed fund would be broader to include hospitality, leisure and other businesses that can create employment in border counties.
Commissioners pressed for meetings with Connecticut officials. The presenters said they had exchanged emails with state contacts but had not yet secured a meeting with Connecticut’s investment decision-makers; they asked the commission to help facilitate introductions to the state treasurer or other officials with authority to consider pension-fund commitments.
During Q&A the presenters cited examples of regional companies that grew to significant employers — including med-tech and imaging companies — and listed other sector investments (timber processing, agritech, water-industry equipment and a battery-powered shipbuilding company called Artemis). The presenters provided a follow-up commitment to send the commission their information memorandum and a presentation deck describing prior investments and fund structure.
