Westbridge closes SME fund after £30m raised

WESTBRIDGE has announced the closure of its SME Fund after a two-year period, having raised £30m from private high net worth investors and institutional investors including the South Yorkshire Pension Fund.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Apr 2012, 09:28 BST

Set up to provide investment to fast growing and profitable UK SMEs, the WestBridge SME Fund has already supported a number of businesses, including the management buyouts of Kallidus, Aero Stanrew and Energist Group. It said “a strong pipeline of future investment opportunities” are currently under consideration.

The fund is supported by the European Union through its Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, which is managed by the European Investment Fund (EIF). WestBridge Capital LLP operates through its wholly owned subsidiary WestBridge Fund Managers, an independent private equity company.

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Guy Davies, managing partner at WestBridge, said: “We are one of only a very small number of first time teams to complete a meaningful fundraising in the current climate. Naturally, we are very pleased to have closed the fund.”

James Wakefield, chairman of WestBridge, added: “We are delighted to have received support from two prestigious private equity fund investors, the EIF and South Yorkshire Pension Fund. Both knew our principals and had been tracking us over a number of years.

“The WestBridge partners believe passionately in backing SME businesses and collectively we have one of the best investment track records in the industry, having all formerly worked in blue chip private equity businesses.”