Northern Ireland fund manager appoints local director to new £75million equity investment scheme

Belfast fund manager Whiterock has announced the appointment of Chris Trotter as an investment director on its new £75m equity investment fund.

Chris has over 10 years of experience working on private equity and venture capital transactions. Having originally qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC in London, he joins Whiterock from Clarendon Fund Managers where he acted as a senior investment manager, with a focus on technology investments.

In his new role, Chris will be responsible for sourcing and executing on investment opportunities for Whiterock’s Growth Capital Fund and advising portfolio companies on their growth strategy in partnership with Whiterock.

Northern Ireland fund manager Whiterock has announced the appointment of Chris Trotter as an investment director on its new £75m equity investment fund. Pictured is Whiterock director David McCurley, investment director Chris Trotter and CEO Paul Millar

Whiterock has been operating in Northern Ireland for more than 10 years. It manages in excess of £225m across five funds and to date has deployed in excess of £120m, which has leveraged over £100m of further funding from other funders.

Launched in March to address the need for growth funding in the local market, the Growth Capital Fund expects to make investments of between £1m and £5m for minority shareholdings in growth and scaling companies, with capacity for further follow on funding as required.

Paul Millar, chief executive of Whiterock, said: “Chris is well known in the Northern Ireland market and has great experience of investing in growing businesses, so we are really pleased to welcome him to Whiterock as we get to work deploying the largest ever locally managed equity fund for NI companies.

Belfast fund manager Whiterock has announced the appointment of Chris Trotter as an investment director on its new £75m equity investment fund

“Whiterock has been actively supporting local businesses for over a decade and our well-established team has a proven track record of providing funding that helps businesses realise their growth plans. Chris will be a fantastic addition to the team.”

Chris Trotter, investment director at Whiterock, explained: “I’m delighted to join Whiterock as they launch Northern Ireland’s largest ever equity fund and look forward to working with the highly experienced Whiterock team as we invest in the companies that drive innovation and growth in our local economy.

“I’m keen to hear from businesses from a range of sectors who can demonstrate clear sales growth and routes to market. If you have a strong management team, a proven business model and high growth potential, we will certainly be interested in having a conversation.”

Owned by a local senior management team, Whiterock has provided debt funding to over 150 SMEs based in Northern Ireland through The Growth Loan Fund I and II, The Growth Finance Fund and more recently the Investment Fund for NI.

Whiterock expects the Growth Capital Fund to be deployed over a five-year investment period, investing in 15-20 companies during that time.