AN investment fund with a €292 million (£207m) pot is on the look out for Northern Ireland companies to support.
The Carlyle Cardinal Ireland Fund was established two years ago by the Carlyle Group and Cardinal Capital Ireland.
It has made four investments so far, all of which have been the the Republic.
But the group's managing director Jonathan Cosgrave said he was keen to do business north of the border.
The pot is the largest private equity fund in Ireland that is focused on growth capital and buy-out investment opportunities.
It invests across all sectors and typically provides between €5m (£3.5m) and €50m (£35m).
Companies in the south which have already benefited from funding including chocolate maker Lily O'Brien's, ham producer Carroll Cuisine, Payzone Ireland and cash-in-transit firm GSLS.
Mr Cosgrave said Carlyle was interested in "operating businesses" that have a growth plan.
"It's completely sector agnostic. Companies that are run by good management teams and have strong growth ambitions, then we'd like to talk to them," he said.
"We're focused on business that are essentially on the up and up, adapting to the global market.
"We're investors for the long term, at least five years, so we go into every investment thinking like that. We're committed to our investments so we want to make sure they work out well.
"We want to partner with management teams. They continue to run the business, we're not managers. Whether you own 90 per cent of the company, or 30 per cent, you're partners."
The group has 10 staff based in Dublin but they cover the entire island.
Mr Cosgrave said they had been in discussions about "a number of very interesting opportunities in Northern Ireland", but none had made it across the line.
"It's a lumpy business. It's like waiting for buses. You could have three opportunities at once or be waiting six months for the right thing to come along," he said.
"The one's we have pursued have been very good opportunities but for one reason or another they haven't worked out. They've been good companies but have decided to take alternative courses.
"We see great opportunity here and great teams and are very focused on trying to get something done.
"We'd love to hear from you if you are an established business that wants to grow, call email, contact us. We're quick to make decisions, understand business as well, we'd love to be your new partner."
The overall Carlyle Group was set up in 1978 and is one of the world's largest investment firms with 1,700 staff at 35 offices across the globe.
In Europe, the main office in London serves 130 staff, with 150 more in the network across Dublin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Luxembourg, Milan, Munich, Paris and Stockholm.
