Phoenix Equity Partners opens NW office

PHOENIX Equity Partners has joined the strong North West private equity community in the North West with the opening of an office in Manchester.

The London firm, which has had an office in Harrogate for some time, has opened an office at The Pinnacle on King Street.

The North West operation is led by John Rastrick and he assisted by Barry Robinson.

Mr Rastrick, a former lawyer, joined Phoenix four years ago from 3i, where he worked across its Manchester and Leeds office. He leads the firm’s industrials sector investment activity.

Phoenix is a growth investor and targets market-leading businesses in high growth areas. It already has two Northern businesses in its portfolio, Didsbury-based Expotel, the hotel booking company and Leeds-based industrial group Andrew Page. 

Barry Robinson told TheBusinessDesk.com: “Manchester is without question the hub for private equity outside London, and while the North West has always been a focus for us, we felt it was important to make a true commitment to the market.

“There are a lot of corporates in this region served by some excellent corporate finance advisers and we want to get more our of this network by being on the ground here.”

Mr Robinson, who worked in Manchester for Deloitte before moving to London five years ago, said Phoenix’s ideal investment was for deals with an enterprise value of between £20m and £150m.