Key Capital Partners raises £55m for latest SME private equity fund

Private equity firm Key Capital Partners (KCP) has completed its first close on a new £80m fund which will invest in high-growth small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Nov 2015, 00:01 BST
(L-R) Key Capital Partners' Tom Lamb, Owen Trotter, Mike Fell, Peter Armitage and Philip Duquenoy(L-R) Key Capital Partners' Tom Lamb, Owen Trotter, Mike Fell, Peter Armitage and Philip Duquenoy
(L-R) Key Capital Partners' Tom Lamb, Owen Trotter, Mike Fell, Peter Armitage and Philip Duquenoy

KCP has secured £55m in its first round of fundraising, and aims to attract another £25m to reach the fund’s hard cap in the coming months.

The fund will target investments of between £3m to £15m through backing management buyouts, equity release and development capital deals in companies where there is opportunity to double profits over a three to five-year period.

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Owen Trotter, Leeds-based managing partner of KCP, said there are “surprisingly few places” for SMEs to secure equity investment of this size.

He said: “Having established a strong track record working with entrepreneurial businesses in the lower mid market, we have developed a real expertise in this important, but underserved sector and this is where we want to be.”

Since launching in 2007, KCP has invested £65m in 15 businesses nationally. It has seen success through deals including its £3.4m investment in York-based Gear4Music in 2012.

The business almost doubled its turnover from £12.3m in the year to February 2013 to £24.2m in February 2015 and completed an initial public offering (IPO) in June, with KCP retaining a 24 per cent stake.

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KCP has exited five of its investments, including Kent-based healthcare services provider Nurse Plus, Manchester-based bespoke interiors supplier Neville Johnson and TSC Foods in Scunthorpe.

The firm said it has further exits in the pipeline.

Related topics:LeedsKentManchesterScunthorpe