Palatine PE closes second fund at £150m
MID-market buyout firm Palatine Private Equity, has achieved the final close of its second fund at £150m.
The Manchester-based firm, which has offices in London and Bristol, said the majority of investors in its maiden 2007 fund had returned in this latest fund-raising, while 55% of the money is coming from overseas investors.
Fund II consists of £100mn from existing investors and £50mn from new investors, such as US-based GE Pension Trust (US) and Japanese institution Nippon Life (Japan). A large un-named German insurance company has also invested, Palatine said.
The firm, whose major successes to date are Manchester-based oil and gas recruiter Air Energi and London teleco XLN, is looking to invest between £10m and £25m of equity in regional lower mid-market deals.
Palatine is led by partners Gary Tipper, Ed Fazakerely and Tony Dickin, who founded the business in 2005, along with partner Andy Lees, who joined from Barclays earlier this year.
The firm’s first fund, which closed at £100m in 2007, made nine investments including the buyout of financial services provider MoneyPlus Group, the secondary buyout of Liverpool-based Wealth at Work and the buy-and-build acquisition of boutique hotel chain Hallmark Hotels.
Its exit from XLN Telecom in 2010, delivering a 4.5x return to investors, and last year’s sale of Air Energi, delivered a 3x return in just over three years.
Gary Tipper, managing partner at Palatine Private Equity, said: “We are delighted to announce the final closing of our second fund at the hard cap of £150million. Almost 100% of the investors in our first fund reinvested this time around, which is a clear testament to the performance of the first fund during a difficult time for the industry.
“We are also really pleased to have attracted commitments from several new blue-chip investors which has effectively expanded the geographical reach of our investor base. The new fund will enable us to continue our focus on providing a partner-led approach to deals in the regional lower mid-market.”
Palatine has already began investing Fund II, with the MBO of Playnation, the supplier of amusement and leisure machines, and the investment into private medical insurance specialist Chase Templeton. Both deals were completed in February 2013.
