Endless pledges £50m for NW after raising £220m
TURNAROUND investor Endless has earmarked £50m for the North West after raising £220m for its third fund in just 10 weeeks.
The firm which scored a big return on its sale of Lancashire’s Crown Paints, but then conceded defeat in its attempts to revive Liverpool retailer TJ Hughes, said the investors in its Fund III were 15 institutions from the UK Europe and the US.
The include pension funds, USA universities, fund of funds and family offices. In total Endless now manages more than £500m.
Managing partner, Garry Wilson, said: “Endless Funds I and II have delivered top decile returns and this, together with the significant investment directly from the Endless partners and team, provides great confidence to our existing and new investors.
“The demand for our third fund amazed us and we were disappointed that we could not accommodate some of the blue chip investors who wanted to join us. An increase on our last fund size of 33% will enable us to help even more companies all over the UK in the next few years as economic conditions remain difficult.”
Endless has invested into 35 businesses since inception in 2005, making it among the most prolific turnaround investor in the UK in the past five years.
Manchester-based partner Warwick Ley added:: “Our sale of Crown Paints in June, for what will represent one of the best returns we have ever delivered, demonstrates the strength of the investment opportunities in the North West region.
“We are delighted that we can allocate £50m of the new fund to continue to support local businesses and expect to remain active investors despite the difficult economic environment.”
Endless was advised by SJ Berwin (Duncan Woollard) and Walker Morris (Simon Hardcastle).
