This private equity giant has just raised £660m to invest in UK startups

Here’s what you need to know about them

Mid-market private equity firm Livingbridge has raised £660m, its largest fundraise to date, to invest in UK startups.

The fund, Livingbridge’s eighth since it was founded in 1995, will invest in growth equity or buyout transactions of entrepreneurial, high growth companies predominantly in the UK.

The fund will focus on investing in companies with enterprise values typically between £20m and £75m across a variety of sectors ranging from business and financial services to TMT, consumer markets and healthcare & education.

In total, Livingbridge has completed eight transactions since the start of the year, investing in businesses such as Southern Communications, one of the UK’s most established telecommunications business, digital recruitment specialist Up Group, and Direct Ferries, the world’s largest online ferry ticket aggregator.  It has also successfully exited businesses such as corporate travel agent Reed & MacKay, IT infrastructure services provider Onyx and Frank Recruitment Group, a global staffing business.

Wol Kolade, Managing Partner at Livingbridge said: “We are delighted to have secured the support of such a high quality international investor base. This is testament to both our strong track record and the significant opportunity that exists to deliver excellent returns backing fast growth UK SMEs. The EU referendum result may have injected a degree of uncertainty into the UK economy but SMEs and entrepreneurs have proven time and time again that they are able to adapt and thrive in precisely this sort of environment.”