Buyout fund raises £250m

Dunedin Capital Partners, a UK-based, mid-market private equity house, completed fundraising for the Dunedin Buyout Fund II with commitments of £250m. Dunedin originally sought to raise £200m but the hard cap was moved to £250m as the fund significantly oversubscribed. The company’s funds under management are now more than £500m.

Ross Marshall, CEO of Dunedin, said, “We are very pleased to have exceeded our fundraising target by a substantial margin and are delighted with the continued support of all our current investors. We have attracted 15 new investors from the UK and Europe and look forward to working with them.”

The fund was raised from a total of 21 investors, including 15 new investors from the UK and Europe. All investors in Dunedin’s first fund re-invested in the new fund. Approximately 50% of the new commitments were raised from investors based in the UK and 50% from Europe reflecting the appeal of UK buyouts and Dunedin’s strong track record. Investors in the fund comprise investment companies, private equity fund of funds, pension funds, life companies, banks and family offices.

Dunedin has backed 32 buyouts and its first buyout fund realised return of 3.7x and a 42% IRR. Dunedin has succeeded in delivering superior returns to investors through investments in buyouts where growth is facilitated by roll-out, buy and build and acquisition strategies.

In the past 12 months, Dunedin has realised its investments in Letts Filofax through a secondary MBO, in Caledonian Building Systems, Celtic Inns and Home & Legacy through trade sales and floated Davenham Group on AIM. Over the same period, investments have been made in Practice Plan, RSL Steeper, etc.venues and Capula. In addition, Dunedin acquired Sand Aire Private Equity in November 2005 and moved to larger premises in London’s Savile Row in April 2006.

The group will continue to focus on investing in UK mid-market buyouts with a transaction value of £10m to £75m in companies with strong growth prospects. The new fund will allow Dunedin to invest up to £50m of equity in any one deal.

JPMorgan Cazenove acted as placement agent for the fundraising and SJ Berwin LLP provided legal assistance.