UK based private equity investment trust, Candover Investments (Candover) has outsourced its back office operations to Ipes, a fund services provider specialising in private equity.
The decision to outsource the back office was a strategic one, based on Candover’s need to match its operating model to a revised investment policy which now focuses on returning cash to shareholders.
Malcolm Fallen, Chief Executive for Candover, says: “Our number one priority is delivering value for our shareholders and we therefore needed to find an efficient and cost effective solution for managing our back office requirements. After analysing various options, we decided to outsource.“
In order to identify a provider, Candover conducted a formal tender process, which led to the selection of Ipes.
According to Fallen: “The experience of the Ipes listed funds team stood out and they have an excellent reputation in the market. The quality of their systems, and in particular the level of tailoring and their understanding of the listed private equity sector, was a major influence in our decision”.
Ipes will manage all of Candover’s back office operations from its UK office, with this mandate further boosting Ipes’ client base in the listed funds sector.
Candover is listed on the London Stock Exchange and work undertaken will include fund accounting, company secretarial including stock market notification, and statutory reporting to investors.
Andrew Whittaker (pictured), Managing Director for Ipes UK, says: “We are delighted to be working with Candover. This is an important piece of business for Ipes and it builds on our growing client base in listed funds as more firms in this sector look to outsource.”
Ipes is building its client base in the listed funds space following a number of key hires to its listed team including Mary McGuirke (ex Capita, Sinclair Henderson & Santander) and John Ellman-Brown (ex Fidelity, Henderson, Capita & Investco).