YFM Equity Partners has held a final close of its Buyout Fund II with GBP80 million of committed capital and participation from new high net worth and entrepreneurial investors.
Buyout Fund II will follow on from YFM’s first buyout fund that closed on GBP45 million in April 2017, and which recently completed its investment programme, with ten investments made within three years.
“The majority of Buyout Fund I investors have come into the new fund which is a strong sign of support from our investor base,” said Mike White, YFM’s partner responsible for fundraising and investor relations.
“We’re also pleased to have attracted nearly 40 new investors, each typically committing sums of between GBP500,000 and GBP5 million, which is a great endorsement of our market, approach and performance,” he continued.
YFM’s strategy is to raise funds principally from high net worth, entrepreneurial investors. The fund is intending to invest over a three to four year period, extending into 2023.
“This is a different approach to most private equity funds, but it delivers flexibility of timing between funds, increases the diversity of investors and works really well for funds of this size,” added White.
Buyout Fund II will continue the strategy of the first fund, typically investing between GBP3 million and GBP10 million per transaction into businesses with growth potential located across the UK via YFM’s network of offices in London, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham, according to the firm.
White continued: “Most of our investors are owner managers who have realised value either partially, or in full, from businesses in the markets and sectors in which we invest.”
David Hall, YFM managing partner, said: “We believe the market for these smaller businesses is less well-served, which was demonstrated by the success of Buyout Fund I, which built its portfolio within three years of final close.
“Clearly, we are in a period of uncertainty at the moment, but as in previous times of uncertainty, we are confident that now is a great time to have a new fund ready to deploy, and that there will be some exciting opportunities for investment.
“We’ve been encouraged by the strong investor appetite and our team is excited by the prospect of having these additional funds to invest in the UK’s smaller businesses. And, having very recently completed one new investment and one successful realisation, we are and remain open for business,” concluded Hall.
YFM’s holdings include Tonkotsu, Traveltek and Unbiased. Elucidat, a platform for producing digital learning at scale included in YFM’s portfolio of companies, recently decided to remove the price tag on one of its programs worth USD 3,000 to support learning teams in the wake of Covid-19.
