After a positive 18 months, securing three highly successful exits and completing two high quality MBOs*; Bestport Capital Limited partners, Ole Bettum, Julian Carr, Brian Phillips and James Stoddart announce that they are dividing into two sister businesses with different client facing emphasis, which will continue to invest in others deals.
Bestport Capital Limited had been aimed at a two-pronged audience covering fund investors and deal- by deal HNW investors. It will be replaced by two sister private equity investment businesses to address the two models with greater focus.
In order to accelerate the expansion of the deal-by-deal HNW based fund management strategy, Ethos Partners has been set up and will be run by Julian Carr and Brian Phillips as a pure deal-by deal investment business.
Bestport Private Equity will continue the Bestport brand with its long and successful association with mainly family office and large HNW fund investors who prefer to award Bestport discretionary mandates to build diversified portfolios. James Stoddart and Ole Bettum are seeking to maintain this focus going into 2018.
Ethos Partners and Bestport Private Equity will both continue to operate out of 42 Upper Berkeley Street but will be run out of separate offices to avoid any conflicts in respect of fund management terms. They will continue, whenever appropriate, to coinvest in new deal opportunities and they will hold existing investments in Nu Heat and Teamsport in common. Brian Phillips and Julian Carr are joined by Sandy Farmer and Nadiya Siddique whilst Ole Bettum and James Stoddart are joined by Sophie Blandford.
*the three exits achieved are Creditcall (Feb 2018, 4.2x money); Teamsport go karting (Oct 2017, 4.1x money) and; Impero Education software (Aug 2017, 3.1x money). New investments in 2017 were to lead the £8m MBO of Nu Heat, a market leading under floor heating business; and to arrange and complete, alongside Duke Street Private Equity, the £42m secondary MBO of Teamsport go-karts.