Venture capital group 3i invested £8 million sterling in Northern Ireland in the year to the end of March last.

According to its latest results, 3i led the £24 million expansion financing of the nursing homes.group BetterCare, and backed the £7.1 million management buyout at builders merchants, J P Corry. 3i also invested £2.2 million in the management buyout of the Belfast based distributors and logistics management company, FAMAC.

Outside of Northern Ireland, 3i invested £742 million in 572 companies over the 12 month period. At the end of March last, 3i had investments in 3,200 businesses with a combined valuation of £3.8 billion.