UK-based private equity firm Octopus Investments has appointed Matthew Setchell as investment manager, reporting to director of intermediate capital Stuart Nicol and responsible for sourci
UK-based private equity firm Octopus Investments has appointed Matthew Setchell as investment manager, reporting to director of intermediate capital Stuart Nicol and responsible for sourcing, selecting and structuring new deals and managing investments through to exit.
Setchell previously spent three years as an investment manager at Shore Capital, focusing on the Puma range of venture capital trusts and leading numerous asset-backed and mezzanine deals including transactions within the hotel, leisure and construction sectors. He earlier spent five years as a manager within PricewaterhouseCoopers’ advisory team.
‘Octopus Intermediate Capital has been recognised by some of the UK’s most exciting and forward-thinking companies as a great business partner and Matt’s extensive experience with mezzanine finance will play an invaluable part in helping us build on our success to date and achieving our future goals,’ Nicol says.
Setchell adds: ‘The Octopus Intermediate Capital team has an impressive track record in the provision of mezzanine finance and I firmly believe that the current market environment will lead to a growing trend in this type of investment. We are currently in dialogue with a range of exciting and dynamic businesses.’
Established in 2000, Octopus Investments offers a range of investment products including venture capital trusts, enterprise investment schemes, inheritance tax solutions, business property relief products and a range of UK equity Oeics, and has more than GBP520m in assets under management.
Octopus Intermediate Capital invests between GBP1m to GBP4m in UK companies in the form of intermediate capital, which is more flexible than bank debt and cheaper than equity finance, for transactions including management buyouts, senior debt refinance, expansion capital, acquisition finance, partial exits and pre-IPO deals. The business has GBP45m in funds under management and is currently raising a further GBP25m.
