In 2023, faced with dislocations ranging from a global energy crisis to rising interest rates, Searchlight Capital saw an opportunity on the public markets. The private equity firm bought asset manager Gresham House in a £470m take-private deal.
Outside of the restrictions of being a listed company, Gresham is now pursuing an M&A strategy which has seen it acquire energy transition manager SUSI, and timberland manager Molpus. On this week’s Stories of Transformation we are joined by James Redmayne, head of European private equity at Searchlight Capital, and Tony Dalwood, CEO of Gresham House, to discuss the course of the investment so far.
We cover the investment case for the acquisition (1:04); how private ownership helps an asset manager to scale (3:20); the experience Searchlight has leveraged, including its LP relationships (6:30); the strategy behind the SUSI and Molpus deals (10:14); growing an asset manager organically (14:36); the headwinds facing sustainable investing (16:37); the primacy of financial returns (17:57); the hold period for an asset manager (19:56); and whether Gresham will return to the public markets (21:25).
