Private equity firm makes key Birmingham hire

Palatine, the mid-market private equity firm, has appointed Georgina Wendon-Smith as a portfolio manager.

Wendon-Smith is well-connected in the professional services sector in the Midlands, having previously supported the Palatine team on several investments as an adviser.

She joins from Beechbrook Capital, a specialist fund manager, where she was an associate director in the Birmingham office. With more than 10 years’ experience in financial advisory, Wendon-Smith has previously worked for Duff & Phelps and Grant Thornton.

She will be based in Birmingham and be supporting the investment team with the portfolio and new deals predominantly across the Midlands and the South.

Richard Thomas, head of Midlands at Palatine, said: “We are delighted to welcome Georgina to the team, she’s an excellent hire with a great skillset, which we saw first-hand on the CET and Gusto investments.

“We’ve had a very active 2021 so far with the exits from TTC and Wren Sterling and a number of portfolio companies completing bolt-on acquisitions, so it’s a great time to be strengthening our team, ahead of a busy final quarter.”

Wendon-Smith added: “Palatine is a leading player in the mid-market with a great track record of working in partnership with dynamic management teams to help them grow and create value, and I am therefore very excited to join the team.

“I’m looking forward to building relationships with management teams and working alongside investee companies to successfully deliver their strategies and maximising their growth potential.”