Endless raises £164 million fund
Article Date: Feb 28 2008Private equity house Endless has closed its first institutionally-backed fund at £164 million. The Leeds-headquartered firm, which was established two years ago, had targeted £120 million for the fund.
Endless Fund II will be invested in UK buy-outs and turnarounds, via both debt and equity. It is backed by investors including global private equity funds of funds, plus a number of European and US-based family offices and foundations.
The firm’s largest deal to date is the disposal of Yorkshire-based personal care and footwear group Peter Black International to Chinese trading giant Li and Fung. Endless says profits on the deal last August were in excess of £50 million, with a holding period of just over one year.
Partner Darren Forshaw comments: ‘Fund II will not only enable us to deliver a greater number of deals the size of Peter Black, but also to continue to transact at our present rate in the lower mid-market.’
Forshaw adds that the deterioriation in economic conditions and expectations should create distressed or turnaround opportunities for the fund.
Endless has offices in Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham, and operations in London and Northern Ireland. The firm’s managing partner is Garry Wilson, who leads 23 staff across the UK.