SilverStreet Capital has held the third closing of Silverlands II, the successor fund to its original Silverlands Fund. SilverStreet Capital is a leading private equity investor in the agricultural sector. It has offices in the UK, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Silverlands II, which is targeting a fundraising total of USD300 million, invests into the agricultural and food production sectors of Sub-Saharan Africa. In September 2016, it made its first acquisition being a table grape farm located in Aussenkehr, Namibia. It is expected to hold its final close in the first quarter of 2018.
It follows a similar strategy to that of its predecessor, the Silverlands Fund, which has made eight investments across six countries and has USD320 million of funding.
SilverStreet Capital has seen a further strengthening of its team during 2017 with the appointments in January of Sally-Jane Miller, as General Counsel, and Charlie Haywood, as Financial Accountant.
Miller brings over 14 years of transactional experience with her having spent nine years at Linklaters LLP (London, Madrid and Singapore). She was managing a wide range of cross-border and cross-practice public and private transactions, and subsequently five years in-house with a boutique firm investing in energy and infrastructure opportunities in emerging markets.
Haywood qualified as a Chartered Accountant with EY’s assurance practice in Jersey, Channel Islands. Whilst working for EY he gained over three years’ experience dealing with several small and medium sized Private Equity clients.
Gary Vaughan-Smith, Chief Investment Officer and Founding Partner, says: “The SilverStreet team has grown considerably in strength and depth over recent months, which leaves it very well placed to achieve its investment goals. It is particularly pleasing that Silverlands II has already made its first investment and is close to completing its second.”
Miller says: “The diversity of investments made by Silverlands I, the potential opportunities for Silverlands II and the considerable positive social impact of the SilverStreet investment model makes this a very exciting time to be joining the SilverStreet team. I very much look forward to contributing to the business’s growth”.
