Connection Capital hires associate director from Liberum

Ero Partsakoulaki
10 August 2022

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UK-based private equity firm Connection Capital has hired James Greenwood as associate director to its investment team.

The GP said in a statement that the hire comes amid the growing appetite of private investors for access to UK private equity and debt transactions.

Greenwood moves into private equity from an advisory role at Liberum Capital, where he worked across both public and private markets. As part of his previous role, Greenwood had worked with Connection on transactions including the IPO of Virgin Wines, a portfolio company of the GP.

Prior to his work in investment banking, Greenwood worked for Panmure Gordon. He began his career at a technology start-up before making the leap into corporate finance and M&A with Strata Partners.

At Connection, Greenwood will be responsible for sourcing and executing prospective transactions and managing portfolio companies.

The hire comes after a period of deal-making that saw the GP complete three investments in UK SMEs in recent weeks, including backing the MBO of UK-based TV and film set 'design and build' business 4Wood in July. The GP also made growth capital investments in LED video wall specialist Brompton Technology and Spotless Water, a B2B provider of ultra-pure water.

Other recent activity includes portfolio company Mode Solutions' bolt-on acquisition of IT managed services provider EACs in June. The company is currently reviewing further bolt-on transactions, as reported by Unquote's sister publication Mergermarket.

The GP has also realised investments in portfolio firms Tempcover for a return in excess of 5x money, and Sleeperz hotel for 2x money. Last year, Connection reaped 7.5x from its Virgin Wines exit and 4x from Carter Accommodation.

Connection Capital is a syndicator of investment funds from private professional investors into direct private equity, private debt, and commercial property deals, as well as alternative asset funds. The firm allows individuals to commit a minimum of GBP 25,000. The platform pools its clients' funds on a deal-by-deal basis, and allows them to self-select investments from the GP's portfolio.

Connection Capital has GBP 400m of funds under management across its portfolio, according to a press release.