WestBridge raises GBP 130m in first close for third fund with debut deal in sight

Harriet Matthews
08 August 2023

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UK-headquartered GPТ WestBridgeТ has held a GBP 130m first close for its third fund, and expects to complete the vehicleтs inaugural deal later in August, a source familiar with the situation told this news service.

The firm has set a target and hard-cap of GBP 200m for the vehicle, the same source added.

WestBridge is working with placement agent Capstone on the fundraise, this source and a second source said.

The GBP 130m raised for WestBridge III includes capital allocated for subsequent fund closes and co-investments, the first source said.

Although 40% of the firm's existing LPs were unable to re-up for the first close due to Brexit, the fund is expected to be oversubscribed early next year based on the number of potential investors currently evaluating the fund, the first source added.

WestBridge II held a final close in 2019 on its GBP 140m hard-cap. The fund was 91% deployed as of July 2022, according to Unquote Data. Performance-wise, it is on track to deliver more than a 5x gross multiple of cost and the firm is anticipating some strong exits in 1H 2024, the first source said.

According to its website, WestBridge focuses on UK-based B2B companies operating in growing niches. It typically deploys GBP 10m-GBP 25m per deal for companies with EBITDA of GBP 2m-GBP 6m and enterprise values of GBP 15m-GBP 60m. The firm has offices in London, Manchester and Cardiff.

The GP's recent investments include Soho Square-backed fire suppression systems producer Alpine Fire Engineers, which marked the 10th deal from WestBridge II. The fund invested GBP 18.7m for a majority stake.

Companies in the firm's portfolio with a high Likely to Exit (LTE)* score include environmental consultancy APEM. The company has a score of 56, marking the highest score across its portfolio, with WestBridge's four-year holding period the most significant contributor. The company is currently pursuing a buy-and-build strategy, as reported.

WestBridge declined to comment. Capstone had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

*Mergermarket's LTE predictive analytics assign a score to sponsor-backed companies to help track and predict when an exit could occur through M&A, an IPO, a direct listing or a deSPAC transaction.