Perwyn hires CFO from Silverfleet Capital

Ero Partsakoulaki
08 July 2022

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Perwyn, a UK-based family-backed private and growth equity investor, has appointed James Gavey as its new CFO.

Gavey, who will be based in the firm's London office, joins from Silverfleet Capital Partners, where he worked since 2001, most recently as director of finance, according to a press release. His expertise lies in the UK and European lower and midmarket management buyouts with an enterprise value of between EUR 25m and EUR 300m.

Gavey told Unquote he will support Perwyn in the growth of the business as it expands its portfolio and focus on larger deals.

"The core part of the role will be leading the finance and operations aspects of the business ensuring my investment colleagues have the support and systems they need to execute our strategy and effectively manage our portfolio on a day-to-day basis," he said.

Silverfleet Capital stopped raising capital for its third flagship fund a year ago, turning its focus to follow-on investments and realisations in its existing portfolio.

Gavey began his career at PwC in the assurance and business advisory services division.

This is Perwyn's third hire this year, following the appointment of Gurinder Sunner as partner in February, and Angus Duthie-Jackson as an associate last month. The European private equity company has more than doubled its team, assets under management and portfolio of deals since 2019. The team now stands at 23 members and is set to announce more hires later this year as it expands across the UK and Europe, according to Gavey.

The sponsor specialises in buyout and growth capital investments in technology, services, healthcare and food and ingredients. It typically invests GBP 20m-200m in a limited number of businesses with the potential for significant growth.

"Perwyn's objective is to be one of Europe's leading private equity investors with a permanent capital base from a small number of committed investors, said Gavey. "This differentiates us from the institutional market as we are focussing on investing and maximising value in the portfolio rather than traditional fundraising cycles."

Recent deals by the firm include a EUR 10m investment in UK-based Secret Sales in June 2021, and the buyout of Poland-based SalesManago in November 2021 alongside Silver Tree Equity, according to Unquote Data.

In an interview with Unquote's sister publication Mergermarket last year, founder and MD Andrew Wynn said the firm was looking to further expand its presence in continental Europe with more than GBP 200m to invest in deals across its private equity and growth capital strategies.