New directors for PE firm ECI

PRIVATE equity firm ECI Partners has announced the promotion of Stephen Roberts to director in its Manchester office and Suzanne Pike to director of its origination team.

Roberts joined ECI in 2015, having previously been a secondee. Prior to joining ECI he spent more than nine years at PwC, including five years within the corporate finance division.

He works on a number of ECI’s current investments, including Imagesound, Tusker and Evans Cycles.

ECI has a strong track record in the North – investments in the area include Knowsley-headquartered Clarke Energy, Chesterfield-headquartered Imagesound, Macclesfield-headquartered MPM Products and Wakefield-headquartered Harvard Technology.

Previous investments include Manchester-headquartered NCC Group, Crewe-based Bargain Booze (now listed as Conviviality), Manchester-based Laterooms.com, Trafford-based Think Money Group, Bolton-based Ascribe (now part of EMIS Group) and Wilmslow-based Citation.

Pike joined ECI in 2011 to work on deal origination. Previously, Suzanne was at Coleman Research Group, where she managed projects across EMEA. Since Joining ECI, Suzanne has originated a number of deals for ECI 9 and 10, as well as bolt-on acquisitions from across the globe for ECI’s portfolio companies.

Steve Tudge, ECI managing partner and chairman of ECI’s investment committee, said: “We are delighted to announce the promotions of Stephen and Suzanne, both of whom are experienced investment professionals with a passion for supporting ambitious management teams. They have contributed significantly to what has been a very active and successful period for ECI.”