Hopwood joins Maven as investment director

Private equity house Maven Capital, one of the most active in the lower mid-market, has appointed Craig Hopwood as investment director based in its Manchester office.

Hopwood joins from HSBC where he was responsible for looking after a portfolio of larger private equity-backed businesses across the region including Fircroft, Tangerine and Innovia.

Prior to that, he worked in the private equity teams at Northstar Equity Investors and Spirit Capital Partners LLP, having previously been part of PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Corporate Finance Private Equity advisory team.

At Maven, Hopwood will be responsible for sourcing and leading new growth capital and private equity investments across the north of England. In addition to this, he will work alongside portfolio companies in the region to help them achieve their future growth aspirations.

Maven invests in high growth SMEs through a range of client funds including six Venture Capital Trusts, Private Equity, Specialist Property and a number of regionally focused funds delivering equity and debt finance. These provide a range of flexible funding solutions for entrepreneurial businesses with the ability to commit investments of up to £10m.

Ryan Bevington, investment director at Maven, said: “We are delighted to welcome Craig to the Maven team.

“He is well known us, having previously worked with Aberdeen Asset Managements’ Private Equity team in Manchester alongside a number of Maven executives.

“Craig’s background in corporate finance advisory and banking, as well as growth capital and private equity investment, will bring valuable experience in managing and supporting investments across the north of England, adding to the wide range of sector specialisms within our existing North West team, as well as being able to support the NPIF Maven Equity Finance fund.”