Palatine Private Equity is targeting the GBP100 million investment mark in Midlands businesses, having pumped GBP55 million into the region over the last three years.
The firm opened its Midlands office in December 2015, and has since moved to a new office in Somerset House on Temple Street.
Palatine’s Midlands team has made four investments and an exit since the office launch, generating over GBP8.5 million in fees for the local corporate finance community. Westleigh Partnerships was backed with a GBP21 million investment and was exited less than 21 months later when the company was acquired by a Plc in a GBP134 million deal – generating a three times return on investment and 90 per cent IRR for Palatine.
Investments include a deal for Telford-based TTC Group, a provider of road user and cycling education courses, as well as the secondary buyout of CET UK, a specialist provider of infrastructure and property assurance services. The latter recently completed the bolt-on of geotechnical and constructions materials testing specialist Enverity, enabling CET to add to its national infrastructure division.
The region has also benefitted from the firm’s GBP100 million Impact Fund, with the investment in East-Midlands based e-days, a provider of employee absentee management software. The Impact Fund targets investments of up to GBP10 milliion in companies with a positive social and/or environmental impact whilst also delivering industry standard returns.
Richard Thomas, Senior Investment Director and head of Palatine’s Midlands office, says: “Despite current political uncertainty, the Midlands market continues to be ripe with opportunities, and there is a strong appetite from Palatine for investment in high calibre management teams looking to fulfil their ambitious expansion plans. Since we opened, other firms have followed, and the Midlands now has a private equity market that rivals other cities. As a result, businesses in the region are increasingly looking at this type of funding to achieve their growth aspirations.”
“In light of the ongoing political uncertainly, many firms are adopting a ‘wait and see approach’. However, uncertainty can also throw up new opportunities, and we are perfectly placed to capitalise on this. The Midlands is a fantastic market and we are confident of topping the GBP55 million already invested over the next few years.”
