Phoenix raises #375m fund

Mid-market private equity investor Phoenix Equity Partners has closed its new fund, Phoenix Equity Partners 2006 Fund in three months. The fund raising was formally launched in December 2005 and completed on March 1, 2006. The fund size was capped at £375m and investor demand exceeded both the fund cap and the original target.

Phoenix focuses on private UK-based businesses valued at up to £200m. The 2006 Fund is the successor to Phoenix Equity Partners IV, a £300m fund that acquired a total of 16 businesses, including three during Q1 2006: Letts Filofax, Radley, and Nationwide Autocentres; and also includes Vivid Imaginations, Partnership Assurance, Weststar Holidays, Palletways, Acorn Care & Education, and Bank Stores.

The 2006 Fund was raised from 24 institutional investors from Europe, North America and Asia and includes a combination of prior Phoenix investors and new institutions. Investors include Teachers’ Private Capital, the private investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, AlpInvest, AXA Private Equity, Adams Street, SEB and The Wellcome Trust, among others.