Endless Raises £100m for Third Enact Fund

Jun 30, 2022 | News

Private equity firm Endless has raised £100m for its third Enact fund to invest in UK SMEs.

Enact seeks to invest in businesses that face challenging situations and that do not meet the investment criteria of traditional private equity or bank funding.

It aims to drive change through the investment of capital, partnering with management, providing operational expertise, offering hands-on support and focusing on value creation.

Get the week’s top news delivered directly to your inbox – Sign up for our newsletter

Sign up

Enact III will principally target businesses based in the UK with an investment requirement of up to £10 million (an increase from £5m in Enact Fund II).

It is set to back a range of transaction types and circumstances, including turnarounds, financial and operational restructurings, the disposal of non-core assets, complex carve outs and challenging buyouts.

The predecessor fund, Enact II, has invested in eight UK businesses to date. These have included hydraulic cylinder manufacturer Edbro, coatings manufacturer Bartoline and apprenticeship training provider Realise, with the Fund also delivering a first exit of Redhall Networks for a 4x return.

The Enact III raise follows the £400m that was secured for Endless V in early 2021.

Garry Wilson, managing partner of the Endless Group, said: “Enact III was heavily oversubscribed and we had to lift our cap from £75m. Investors comprise successful entrepreneurs, experienced advisors and, for the first time, institutional investors.

“All the existing Enact II investors committed to Fund III, in addition to a number of new parties. As is always the case with our funds, the Endless and Enact teams are the single largest investor in Fund III, ensuring a strong alignment of interest with investors.”

Enact partner Chris Cormack added: “The demand from investors has exceeded our expectations, as more individuals look to invest into private equity, an asset class which can still be difficult to access. We are excited about the next chapter for Enact; the funding gap for SMEs is likely to be exacerbated further in the coming months as macro-economic headwinds in the global economy continue to bite.

“Enact will look to support those small and medium sized businesses that need capital to overcome operational or strategic challenges. We have expanded our team in the last two years with Richard Harrison leading Manchester and Felix Connolly driving London.”

The Enact III fundraise was managed in house by head of investor relations Lucia Villamor, working alongside general counsel Simon Hardcastle and finance director Chris Lewis. Endless was advised by MJ Hudson.

Source: Insider Media

Can’t stop reading? Read more