British private equity firm Red Arrow Investment Group has signed a memorandum with Iranian counterpart Farda Roshan Group to invest in Iran, Asli Khabar reported on August 25.

Since the US announced its new sanctions campaign against the Iranian economy and any foreign companies that remain in business with Iran, the trend has been for the big European companies to pull out of the Islamic Republic but for small and medium sized players to either announce they are staying or to arrive in the country with the intention of forming trade or investment relationships. The former can typically be easily sanctioned given their clear links to the US financial system or even to US assets, while the latter may prove elusive to US sanctions officials given their lack of such links.

Air France and British Airways are among the latest big companies to announce they are ending their Iran operations. Among smaller players to have committed to staying in Iran recently is Spanish oil and gas equipment and services firm Esproenko International.

Red Arrow Investment Group representative and business consultant David Whitefoot signed the memorandum with Farda Roshan’s Farzane Salimiyan on August 25 in Tehran to expand cooperation and investment over the next 12-month period as part of an initial expansion into the Iranian investment market.

The female-led Iranian investment firm, which invests in manufacturers, said the deal would enable it to build on previous investment in Iran’s business sector.

Salimiyan reportedly said the partnership was “exceptionally good news”, adding: “[That’s the case given] the introduction of new US sanctions applied to Iran which are unfair as Iran has adhered to the terms and conditions of the JCPOA [nuclear deal] agreement.”

Whitefoot was cited as saying Iran has a highly educated and dedicated workforce and that he was confident that with full cooperation from banks and financial institutions a unique partnership could be created by the two companies.