BGF Expands Team with Appointment of Laura Cockburn

BGF has expanded its team in the South of England with the appointment of Laura Cockburn to focus on direct origination across the South of England

Laura has more than 15 years’ investment experience, including six years as a Director in RBS’s Special Opportunities Fund and has held positions with HBOS Joint Ventures, CIT Group Partners and HM Treasury – where she worked as a policy advisor.

Laura joins BGF from Knight Corporate Finance, where she advised businesses and entrepreneurs on a range of transactions including fundraising, trade sales and institutional investments. Working alongside the management teams, she has held board seats at a number of growing companies.
Laura is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and holds a degree in Politics Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University.

In her new role with BGF, Laura is based in Sussex and will be responsible for identifying investment opportunities with a focus on Sussex, Kent and Surrey.

BGF is the UK’s most active investor in growing companies in the UK and Ireland. With a portfolio of over 180 companies, BGF has year-on-year increased both the volume of cash invested and the number of deals completed since launching in 2011.

Gavin Petken, Regional Director, South BGF said: “We are delighted to welcome Laura into the BGF team. Laura has many years’ experience of working with and advising growing companies on a range of transactions. This experience will be invaluable as we continue to identify and support some of the UK’s most exciting businesses.

Laura Cockburn added: “In just six years, BGF has become the UK’s most active investor, completing close to 60 transactions last year alone. I’m looking forward to working with BGF’s network to identity businesses and management teams with the acumen and appetite to fulfil their potential and become the industry-leading names of tomorrow.”