Matrix looking for £15m

UK VCT manager Matrix Private Equity Partners (MPEP) has launched Matrix Income & Growth 2 for investment in management buyouts.

It is looking to raise £15m in a C share offer, which will be used to invest alongside the firm’s four other VCTs.

Matrix is confident it can take advantage of the economic downturn, particularly in the light of the lack of bank debt available to smaller businesses.

Mark Wignall, managing partner, said: “Through 2007 and 2008, we didn’t over pay, we didn’t over gear nor over commit. Free from the distraction of portfolio distress, MPEP has significant liquidity available for investment. This dry powder will be deployed behind existing investees as bolt-on acquisition opportunities emerge and highly selectively in those new investments that are priced more realistically to offer the right balance of return and risk. With a significant reduction in available and competing sources of debt and equity, MPEP sees an increasingly needy UK smaller companies market offering a vintage 2009 investment crop.”