NorthEdge's maiden fund hits final close

Carmen Reichman
15 April 2013

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NorthEdge Capital's maiden fund NorthEdge Capital Fund I LP has held a final close on its ТЃ225m hard-cap.

NorthEdge's final close exceeded the fund's original target of £200m. The vehicle was launched as a corporate recovery fund in 2009 and was originally expected to close within 12-18 months. It held its first close in August 2012 on £125m. The GP described the fundraising climate as being "challenging".

The fundraising was coordinated by global placement agent UBS, led by James Moore. SJ Berwin, led by Duncan Woollard, acted as legal adviser, while Vicky Mudford Ltd provided investor-related advisory services to the NorthEdge team.

Investors
The fund's investor base comprises 15 global institutional investors, including CNP Assurances, the European Investment Fund, Industriens Pension, MLC Investments, Pathway Capital Partners and West Yorkshire Pension Fund. Some 48% of commitments came from Europe, 42% from the US and 10% from Australia.

Investments
NorthEdge Capital I will make investments of £5-35m in businesses with enterprise values of between £10-100m, or typically £20-75m, in the north of England. The fund has already invested in Stockport-based specialist engineering business FPE Global, which it backed in February 2013.

People
The team behind NorthEdge Capital includes managing partner Grant Berry, and partner and chief investment officer Andy Ball. Tom Rowley joined the firm as an investment manager in March, while James Hall was appointed to director of the Leeds office in August last year.