Beechbrook’s Fund II hits €150m hard-cap
Beechbrook Capital has held the final close for its Beechbrook Mezzanine Fund II on slightly more than its €150m hard-cap.
The vehicle has closed on €151m following an agreement with the fund's existing investors.
It has a total lifespan of eight years with extension options for residual investments. The fund's investment period is three years.
Fund II held its second close last month on €110m, bringing the total number of institutional investors up to eight with the arrival of two new LPs.
At the time of the second close, Beechbrook also announced two new appointments, hiring David Deregowski and Adam Moore as associates, and two new investments from Fund II. The vehicle supplied mezzanine loans to support the buyouts of Gusto by Palatine Private Equity and Americana by Emeram Capital Partners.
Fund II was announced in December 2012 with a target of €100-120m. It held a first close in May 2013 on €67m with a further €25m received in pledges.
Beechbrook has also announced the appointment of Alan Chu as its new finance and operations director, effective from 1 September this year. Chu will join the firm from his position as financial controller for Graphite Capital's funds.
Investors
In total, Fund II received commitments from 14 investors, with a further six joining between the vehicle's second close last month and final close.
The fund's public sector LPs include the European Investment Fund and the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Commitments also came from insurance firms, pension funds and funds-of-funds.
Three investors from Beechbrook's previous fund committed to the new vehicle.
Investments
The vehicle is already one-third invested, with two new investments announced in conjunction with the fund close marking the sixth and seventh deals.
Fund II's new transactions comprise a unitranche loan to support the buyout of Douteil Smart Repair by Constellation Capital – which also marks Beechbrook's first foray into the German market – and a mezzanine loan and equity commitment for UK natural ingredient processor Stan Chem.
The fund focuses on SMEs with enterprise values in the region of €10-100m and invests across several industries in the UK and northern Europe – namely business services, technology, media, telecommunications, industrials, consumer and healthcare.
People
Beechbrook was founded by Nick Fenn and Paul Shea, who head up the investment team.
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