NorthEdge Capital ready to compete with £125m fund
THE North’s newest private equity player is ready to hit the deals trail after raising a maiden fund of £125m and launching an office in Yorkshire.
NorthEdge Capital, which has an office in Manchester and has opened an operation in Leeds, will compete in the mid-market with the likes of established regional players such as LDC and Gresham Private Equity.
It is also looking to fill a gap left by London-based PE houses which have closed offices in the region.
The team comprises a number of private equity heavyweights – managing partner Grant Berry, chief investment officer Andy Ball and partner Ray Stenton are all senior former LDC executives, while chairman Michael Joseph is a former chief executive of LDC, who later became managing director, structured finance, at Lloyds Banking Group.
Former investment banker and entrepreneur Dan Wright, NorthEdge’s chief operating officer, completes the firm’s management team.
After launching in 2009, NorthEdge has undertaken an exhaustive international quest for investors.
The fund-raising was led by global placing agent UBS and legal advice was provided by City firm SJ Berwin.
The £125m is believed to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest first-time fund-raisings since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.
The majority of the fund has been raised from institutions in North America and Europe, while some money from high-net worth investors has also been secured.
At its outset in 2009 NorthEdge was focused on financially distressed businesses, but is now seeking investment into growing companies with strong management teams.
It will not target any particular sector and will typically look to invest £15m to £20m of equity into suitable businesses with deal value including debt of around £50m.
TheBusinessDesk.com understands the eight-strong team is in the process of hiring further staff – particularly for the Leeds office, which will be led by Mr Ball.
The firm is keen to hit the ground running and has a good pipeline of potential investments.
Despite using London advisers in the fund-raising the firm intends to use local legal and financial advisers in future.
NorthEdge Capital was unavailable for comment on the fundraising.
