Cairngorm Capital has appointed Lucy Graham as Investment Director and Panita Vongkusolkit as Investment Manager.
With over 20 years’ experience in leveraged nance and corporate law, Graham joins from Clydesdale Bank, where most recently she was Senior Corporate Finance Partner responsible for developing Clydesdale’s inorganic strategy involving acquisitions, sale transactions, joint ventures and for delivering growth opportunities. Previously she spent ten years as a Senior Director in the bank’s leveraged nance team working alongside private equity and corporate investors generating bespoke structured financial solutions to support their growth plans, acquisitions, management buy outs and recapitalisations. Graham was responsible for developing the financing solutions to support Cairngorm Capital’s acquisitions of Polyframe, WB Group, Stevenswood and Customade. Prior to joining Clydesdale Bank, Graham began her career in corporate law, specialising in private equity transactions, with MinterEllison in Sydney and Maclay Murray & Spens (now Dentons) in Edinburgh.
Graham will be based in Cairngorm Capital’s newly opened Edinburgh office, working with Neil McGill to develop opportunities arising from their strong relationships with the business community in Scotland and beyond. The Edinburgh office, which opened in late 2017, is a logical extension of Cairngorm Capital’s activity in Scotland, particularly following its investment in portfolio companies, Stevenswood Group and Thornbridge. It signals Cairngorm Capital’s ongoing commitment to the region and its appetite to be a leading investor in high quality Scottish mid-market companies.
Vongkusolkit joins Cairngorm Capital’s London office from Mitr Phol Group, Asia Pacific’s largest sugar, food ingredient and bioenergy producer. With direct experience of leading investment initiatives across Asia Pacific, Panita brings both commercial and direct operational experience of manufacturing and agribusinesses gained across a broad range of international jurisdictions. Prior to joining Mitr Phol, Panita worked in Sydney for Barclays Investment Bank in mergers and acquisitions. Panita has an MBA from INSEAD. As an Investment Manager at Cairngorm Capital, she will bring her expertise to sourcing new opportunities, executing transactions and supporting the management teams of Cairngorm Capital’s portfolio companies.
Andrew Steel, Managing Partner of Cairngorm Capital, said “We are delighted to welcome Lucy and Panita into our team. Lucy is a multi-talented investment professional, who is exceptionally well-connected and respected across the investment community, particularly in Scotland. Panita’s international, manufacturing and operational expertise aligns perfectly with our investment focus, making her a great addition to our investment team. Both bring the collaborative style and dynamism that is characteristic of our team at Cairngorm Capital.”
Lee Hess, Chairman of Cairngorm Capital adds: “Lucy and Panita are terrific additions to our team and we are delighted to have developed the industry standing, which enables us to attract such talented individuals to join us. Their skills and expertise complement and round those of our existing team, allowing us to pursue more of the opportunities that arise in our target sectors.”
Cairngorm Capital invests in well-performing, UK headquartered, mid-market companies, earning operating profit of GBO2 million – GBP20 million in manufacturing, distribution and services industries. It is interested in rms that can weather economic volatility, have shown consistent historical growth and have significant future growth prospects. A priority is the quality and success of the management team, as Cairngorm Capital builds and realises value through growth and operating improvements, not through financial engineering.
