FPE closes maiden fund on £100m

Kenny Wastell
26 October 2017

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FPE Capital has held a final close for its maiden institutionally backed fund, FPE II, on its ТЃ100m target.

The development comes 21 months after the GP registered the fund and 19 months after it officially launched as an independent investor.

Prior to launching the vehicle, FPE managed funds on behalf of the private equity arm of multi-family office Stonehage Fleming Family & Partners, as well as high-net-worth individuals such as entrepreneurs and business owners.

FPE managing partner David Barbour told unquote" the new vehicle will have a 10-year lifespan and will charge fees that follow a "conventional market model". He added that the fund will offer LPs co-investment opportunities, though this does not form part of the core strategy.

Rede Partners acted as placement agent for FPE II, while Macfarlanes provided legal advice.

Investors
FPE II attracted capital from a mixture of institutional investors and family offices in the UK, the US and mainland Europe.

Around £85m of the capital committed to the vehicle came from institutional investors, Barbour told unquote", with the remainder coming from high-net-worth individuals and family offices. UK investors account for around £40m of the fund, with the remainder equally shared by US and continental European LPs.

According to publicly available documents, it has received commitments from LPs including Access Capital, BVK Private Equity, Adams Street Partners, F&C Asset Management, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, University of Virginia Investment Management Company and Stonehage Fleming.

Investments
The vehicle targets buyouts and growth capital investments in UK-based profitable companies with enterprise values of £20-50m and turnovers of £5-25m. Its strategy focuses on the optimisation of processes and IT systems, as well as investing in team development and recruitment.

Barbour said FPE II will target B2B companies operating in the technology, media and telecommunications; business services; financial services; and energy services sectors. It will look to invest in 10-12 companies, with some capital earmarked for bolt-on investments and expansion rounds.

According to unquote" data, FPE II has made four investments to date. In May 2017, the fund invested in the acquisition and merger of digital media companies Masstech and SGL, which created a workflow automation and archiving business with a consolidated turnover of £10m. Other investments include internet service provider Optimity and Questionmark, a testing and data analysis business.

People
FPE Capital – David Barbour, Henry Sallitt (managing partners).