I am delighted to share the latest developments from ISIF. In this issue, we provide a mid year update, the results of ISIF's economic impact survey, and a look ahead to 2025.
Reflecting on H1 2024
In the first half of 2024, ISIF closed a further €927m in investments across its key themes of climate, scaling indigenous businesses, housing and enabling investments and food and agriculture.
Alongside our impact strategy we continued to make progress towards our
€1bn 5-year climate investment programme
€500m regional ambition programme to unlock the economic potential of Ireland's five regional cities
€400m allocation to equity based investments in new housing projects; and
€150m ambition to commit to invest in female-led private equity and venture capital funds.
Looking Ahead
As we close out the year we look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead. ISIF plays an important role in Ireland's economic landscape, generating commercial returns while supporting economic activity and employment. Our investments have had a positive impact on job creation, gross value add, and wage growth.
We want to thank you, our valued partners, for your continued support of ISIF. We look forward to deepening our existing partnerships and exploring new collaborations in the months and years to come.
Economic Impact 2023
ISIF seeks to maximise the economic impact of investments while also ensuring that all investments satisfy its commercial return objectives. The economic impact and employment supported by ISIF investment differ from traditional Government expenditure. With Government expenditure, public financial resources are depleted as a result of the spending, whereas, with commercial investment, public resources are expected to be returned with a gain at the end of the investment period.
Each year ISIF completes an annual survey of all investees to collect economic impact and employment data to enable it to monitor the economic impact. The below data reflects detailed survey data for 2023*.
*Given the volume of investees, complexity of responses and subsequent analysis, the publication of this economic impact data lags 6+ months.
ISIF trebles its target allocation, committing a further €100m, to female-led investment funds.
In 2022, ISIF announced a €50m initiative to invest in female-led private equity and venture capital funds over the subsequent two years. That €50m has now been met on schedule and exceeded, with €60m committed. Based on the success of the initiative and favourable market reaction to it, ISIF is allocating a further €100m to the initiative. Expansion of the initiative was announced by NTMA Chief Executive Frank O’Connor at an ISIF investor event.
Investments announced so far under the initiative:
May 2024: A €21m commitment to Norrsken Venture Capital, Fund II which is an impact focused venture capital fund that will focus on Seed and Series A investments in climate-tech and health-tech. Core investment themes include sustainable food systems, electrification, energy efficiency, and responsible consumption.
May 2024: A €15m commitment in a first-time fund managed by Blume Equity, a climate-tech investor. Blume invests in businesses addressing climate and environmental challenges by focusing on sustainable food systems, responsible consumption and production, and healthy environment.
Details of an additional €24m in commitments will be disclosed in the coming weeks.
Through the initiative, ISIF is seeking to demonstrate its commitment to addressing gender inequality and promoting greater diversity at senior levels – both within ISIF and in the companies and funds in which it invests.
ISIF's Climate Investment Strategy aims to fund climate-positive initiatives that support Ireland's transition to a Net Zero low-carbon economy. The strategy includes investments in sustainable infrastructure development, new technologies and business models that will facilitate the longer-term transition of the Irish economy to Net Zero.
In 2021, ISIF announced its ambition to invest €1bn in climate-related investment over a 5-year period. The four investments we are announcing showcase the ISIF Climate strategy in action. With the addition of these investments to the Climate Portfolio, ISIF has made great progress towards this target with €636m committed.
They represent the wide range of capital requirements the economy will need during the sustainable transition from Venture Capital to Infrastructure. These investments will also work to trigger private capital at scale into Irish investments.
These investments will be pivotal in supporting Ireland's transition to a clean, green future. ISIF is delighted to partner with high-calibre investors to bring smart private capital into Irish companies and projects.
The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund recently hosted an event titled ‘Harnessing the Climate Opportunity’. The event brought together key stakeholders in the Irish climate ecosystem to discuss and explore opportunities for Ireland on its decarbonisation journey.
Event Highlights: Introduction by ISIF: Nick Ashmore and Paul Saunders set the stage with insightful remarks on ISIF’s Climate Investment Strategy, emphasising our commitment to funding climate-positive initiatives that support Ireland’s transition to a Net Zero, low-carbon economy.
Panel 1: Maximising the Impact of Ireland’s Renewable Energy Potential
- John Harrington (ISIF)
- Joanne Joyce (Schroders Greencoat LLP )
- Richard Thompson (Foresight Group)
- Virginia Ruiz Albacete (Copenhagen Offshore Partners)
Panel 2: Capitalising on the Potential of Climate Technology
- Paula Campbell (ISIF)
- Eleanor Blagbrough (Blume Equity)
- Arthur Pierse (Energy Impact Partners)
- Anna Lundin (Norrsken VC)
Thank you to all our speakers and attendees for making this event a success. Together, we are driving Ireland’s transition to a sustainable future.
ISIF and Port of Cork Company announce unique partnership enabling Ireland's future as a major renewable energy hub.
The Port of Cork Company (PoCC) and The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF),have announced a partnership to support the development of new port infrastructure in Cork Harbour which will accelerate the deployment of Ireland’s first offshore wind projects, on the east and south coast, for 2030 and beyond.
The announcement of an investment commitment of €88.5 million by ISIF brings certainty to the construction of additional facilities at the Cork Container Terminal (CCT).
Cork will become the first port in the state capable of hosting the large-scale storage and assembly requirements of offshore wind projects. In addition, the investment will also help realise the ambitious plans of the Port of Cork’s MasterPlan 2050 to develop multi-purpose berths in Ringaskiddy to accommodate a larger volume of vessels, while increasing throughput efficiency and ability to serve a broader range of international customers.
ISIF's Donal Murphy discusses this partnership and ISIF’s €88.5 million commitment to the project below.
Recently, ISIF's Sarah Hickey was in Limerick to support the ‘topping out’ of One Opera Square.
In 2023, ISIF committed €66m to Limerick Opera Investment Limited Partnership, a newly established joint venture partnership with Limerick Twenty Thirty DAC, to develop One Opera Square, a Grade A office building on the Opera Square site in Limerick City Centre.
At the ceremony Sarah Hickey said "ISIF's investment in One Opera Square is an important component of its €500m investment programme to unlock the economic potential of Ireland’s 5 regional cities, announced in 2022. The partnership with Limerick Twenty Thirty will support the Mid-West region to become an even better place for employers to create jobs, making it an even more attractive place for people to live and work.
As a long term, patient investor, with a mandate to invest commercially and in a manner designed to support economic activity and employment in the State, ISIF worked collaboratively with multiple stakeholders on this project, to unlock other sources of funding which helped to enable delivery of the ambitious scheme. Its work in this regard was recently awarded “Impacting Investor of the Year 2024” at the GRI Europe Awards and ISIF looks forward to continuing to work with Limerick Twenty Thirty, as Opera Square prepares to officially open in April next year.”
