Deal-hungry Palatine invests in Midlands
PALATINE Private Equity, the Manchester-based investor, has launched a Birmingham office as it looks to accelerate dealmaking activities across the West and East Midlands.
Richard Thomas has been appointed to lead the new office in central Birmingham.
Thomas joins from Lloyds Banking Group and has previously held positions at Key Capital Partners and Grant Thornton.
He will work alongside Palatine’s managing partner Gary Tipper, new partner Beth Houghton and business development director Johnathan Massey and will lead deal origination and execution in the Midlands.
Formed in 2005, Palatine typically invests between £10m and £30m into growing entrepreneurial businesses. The award-winning firm, which has offices Manchester and London, has completed four new deals in the last 12 months, realising three exits and closing its Fund III at £220m in June this year.
Palatine’s current portfolio stands at 14 businesses across a range of sectors including financial services, leisure and healthcare. Recent exits for the firm include the £50m sale of financial education provider Wealth at Work to Equistone, and the sale of family entertainment business Playnation to an overseas trade buyer.
Thomas said: “It’s fantastic that we’ve finally got another private equity player on the ground in the Midlands. Opportunities like this don’t come along very often and I’m looking forward to getting in front of ambitious management teams that are looking for help with their growth plans as well as adding to the, already strong, local professional community.
“I’ve known Gary and the rest of the team at Palatine for quite some time now and have a lot of respect for what they’ve achieved both in terms of new deal completions and successful exits.
“It feels like Birmingham is undergoing a bit of a renaissance at the moment and there’s a lot of investment coming into the city with new developments such as Paradise Forum and Grand Central, so it’s a great time to be joining.”
Gary Tipper, managing partner at Palatine, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for the business and we’re pleased to have Richard on board to develop our presence in the Midlands. He has an excellent track record of backing strong management teams and a valuable network of contacts. The Midlands has always had a vibrant corporate finance community, so it was a natural step for us to launch Palatine in the region.”
