Vespa Capital raises £150 million for third fund
February 2020
Vespa Capital LLP (“Vespa Capital”) is delighted to announce the successful first and final close of Vespa Capital III LP (the “Fund”), raising £150 million in total commitments.
The Fund successfully exceeded its original target and hardcap after less than three months in the market following strong support from the firm’s existing investor base and keen interest from a number of notable new international investors. Despite the distraction of Brexit, the Fund was significantly oversubscribed and represents a modest increase in size of approximately 25% over the firm’s predecessor fund. This ensures the firm will remain focused on its successful investment strategy, targeting MBOs and recapitalisations in stable, profitable, cash-generative U.K. businesses in the lower mid-market.
The final close also follows a busy year of investments for Vespa Capital’s predecessor fund: in July 2019 the firm backed the MBO of Bluecrest Health Screening Ltd, a leading provider of health screenings in the U.K. and Ireland which was recently appointed as Vitality’s sole provider and in October 2019 the firm reinvested in Catalis plc, a leading outsourced service provider to the global media and entertainment industry, delivering a 5.5x return for its Fund I investors as a result.
Nigel Hammond, Founder and Managing Partner of Vespa Capital, “Vespa Capital’s investment philosophy is to create consistently superior investment returns for investors by executing the same focused and successful investment strategy employed by our predecessor funds. We are very grateful for the ongoing support of our investors and the confidence they continue to place in the Vespa Capital team, as we remain focused on identifying market-leading and niche, resilient businesses, led by first class management teams with strong profit improvement potential.”
Andy Lund, Global Co-Head of Houlihan Lokey PFG
“We are delighted to have worked alongside the Vespa Capital team on this fundraising, having worked with the same first-class team on their predecessor fund. This accelerated closing reflects the clear excitement and interest of international LPs who were attracted to the U.K. market and by Vespa Capital’s unique and successful investment strategy.”