Kernel Capital, Invest NI launch £25m fund

The fund has a lifespan of 10 years and an investment period of five years. It was established under the Access to Finance portfolio of Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI), a regional business development agency. Access to Finance is a family of debt and equity funds established by Invest NI and managed by chosen venture capital firms.

The new Kernel-managed vehicle is being launched alongside a separate fund set up by Invest NI under the same fund family. Crescent Capital has been chosen to manage Invest NI's other new vehicle, named Crescent III. Both funds fall under the title of Development Funds in the Access to Finance portfolio.

The two firms, Kernel and Crescent, were chosen as the funds' managers following a "competitive tendering process".

Investors
The cornerstone investors of Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund (NI) are Invest NI and the Bank of Ireland, which acts as a cornerstone investor for all of Kernel's funds. Invest NI committed £15m to the fund with Bank of Ireland supplying the balance – the two parties are the only two investors in the fund.

Investments
Kernel's newest vehicle will focus on investing in SMEs based in Northern Ireland. The fund will aim to make four investments per year with equity tickets ranging from £450,000-2m.

People
Daniel McCaughan and Jayne Brady are partners at Kernel. Julie-Ann O'Hare is the director of business banking at Bank of Ireland, while William McCulla is the director of corporate finance at Invest NI.

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