Bowmark Capital, the mid-market private equity firm, has held a first and final closing of its new fund, Bowmark Capital Partners V, having raised GBP375m in just 10 weeks since its launch in October last year.
Despite being restricted to Bowmark’s existing relationships, the new fund attracted investor demand significantly in excess of its GBP375m cap, with approximately 90 per cent of the capital coming from investors in previous funds.
Bowmark Capital Partners V has 22 investors, with 49 per cent of the capital coming from Continental Europe, 34 per cent from North America, eight per cent from the UK and nine per cent from other countries.
Overall, pension funds committed 38 per cent and insurance companies 21 per cent, with 16 per cent coming from funds-of-funds, 16 per cent from other financial institutions and nine per cent from endowments and family offices.
Bowmark’s previous fund, Bowmark Capital Partners IV, was raised in 2008 and has invested in eight fast-growing UK companies to date. These include Leaders Lettings, the UK’s largest specialist residential lettings agency; CARE Fertility, an independent provider of fertility services; and Drake & Morgan, the London-based bar-restaurant group.
The new fund will continue Bowmark’s strategy of active investment in growth-oriented service companies, typically with enterprise values of up to GBP100m. Whilst a range of industries will be considered for investment, the fund will focus on healthcare, education, business services, consumer and leisure, IT services and media.
Transactions will include management buy-outs, buy-ins, roll-outs, build-ups and other later-stage development capital opportunities.
Charles Ind, joint managing partner, says: “We are immensely grateful to our investors for the support they have given us, and for their help in enabling the fundraising to be completed in only ten weeks. This demanding timetable would not have been achievable without their significant goodwill and hard work on our behalf.”
King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin acted as UK legal adviser and Ropes and Gray as US legal adviser.
