The owner of the Pension Infrastructure Platform (PIP), Foresight Group, has announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange following “significant recent growth” and strong performance in recent years.

The group highlighted the plans as the “logical next step”, stating that the company is “extremely well-positioned” to benefit from accelerating global stimulus to the renewable energy and infrastructure markets, and the “huge boost” this will provide to green energy investment.

In addition to this, the group has announced that its strategy going forward will focus on growing existing investment platform, diversifying and developing new investment opportunities, and expanding its investor reach.

In particular, it stated that it intends to explore potential partnerships with large pension funds, with a view to diversifying portfolios through private market managers.

Commenting on the announcement, Foresight Group co-founder and executive chairman, Bernard Fairman, said: "On the private equity side, more than three decades' experience of managing UK SMEs through economic cycles makes us one of very few companies with the network and expertise to help drive the recapitalisation of the UK regional SME sector.

“Additionally, responsible investing has always been at the core of Foresight's strategy and we are well placed to continue to satisfy the strong investor demand for ESG investment strategies.

“An IPO of Foresight will support our growth strategy which involves developing our existing platform, making further acquisitions, and expanding and diversifying both geographically and into new areas of sustainable investment."

The announcement also follows the group’s acquisition of the PIP in August 2020, which, at the time of the deal, managed £1.7bn across a portfolio of 18 assets.

This in turn increased Foresight’s AUM by 38 per cent, and was expected to boost the firms infrastructure offering and accelerate the application of it’s recognised environmental investment capability in other sectors.

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