Foresight Group (“Foresight”), a leading regional private equity and infrastructure investment manager, has announced a £2.5 million investment into Bloemteknik Limited (“Bloem”) a Cardiff-based provider of precision LED lighting systems for commercial greenhouses and vertical farms.
The investment was made through the British Business Bank’s Investment Fund for Wales (“IFW”) and Foresight’s Growth VCTs. The Investment Fund for Wales was launched in November 2023, by the UK government-backed British Business Bank, to boost the supply of early-stage finance to small and medium-sized businesses across Wales. The investment into Bloem was led by appointed fund managers, Foresight, who oversee the Fund’s equity investments up to £5 million.
Founded in 2023 by two former senior leaders from global innovation and technology leader, GE, Bloem has rapidly scaled to become a trusted supplier of horticultural lighting, deploying over 25,000 fixtures across multiple international markets. Its modular systems are tailored to specific crop types and growing environments, enabling growers to operate more efficiently, to boost productivity, and achieve consistent results.
Foresight’s investment has been instrumental in bringing Bloem’s new autonomous lighting platform – GreenFingers – to market. GreenFingers uses advanced algorithms to deliver real-time, self-optimising control of supplementary lighting, ensuring consistent daily light integral (“DLI”) and a balanced growing environment. With Foresight’s backing, Bloem has accelerated final development, testing, and commercial deployment, giving growers access to a technology that redefines lighting performance in controlled environment agriculture.
The investment will also allow Bloem to scale its operations, strengthen delivery capacity, and expand into new international markets. The partnership brings strategic support through board-level guidance, sector expertise, and access to Foresight’s global network, helping Bloem build a resilient, high-growth business rooted in South Wales.
Following a nomination by Foresight, the company has also secured over £700,000 of Innovate UK grant funding through the Investor Partnership Programme to support ongoing product development and further advancements of the GreenFingers platform.
James Fleet, CEO of Bloem, commented: “Bringing GreenFingers to market simply wouldn’t have been possible at this pace without Foresight’s backing. Their investment has enabled us to turn an ambitious concept into meaningful value for growers. GreenFingers creates a truly autonomous self-optimising lighting ecosystem, using advanced algorithms to determine the optimal supplementary intensity and spectrum. It automatically adjusts LED fixtures in real time to maintain a consistent DLI under a balanced cultivation environment.”
Bethan Bannister, Senior Investment Manager, Nations and Regions Investment Funds at the British Business Bank, said: “It’s great to see how the Investment Fund for Wales is accelerating the rate at which innovative businesses like Bloem, are able to bring new products to market.
“Bloem’s development journey is impressive and with their strategic growth ambitions being supported with this funding, we look forward to seeing their ongoing success.”
Ashley Rogers, Investment Manager at Foresight Group, commented: “Bloem has demonstrated strong early traction in a fast-growing market, with a differentiated product and experienced team. We’re pleased to support their growth and innovation, particularly as they expand into new geographies and continue to build on their market leading proposition.”
This marks Foresight’s seventh investment from the Investment Fund for Wales, reinforcing its commitment to supporting innovative Welsh businesses with high-growth potential.
