Endless LLP closes Institutional Fund at £164m

Endless LLP has announced the first and final close of its new investment vehicle, Endless Fund II (“Fund II”), with commitments from a range of international investors totaling £164m. This is in excess of the firm’s original target of £120m.

The close heralds the establishment of the first institutionally-backed fund for the UK based buy-out and turnaround investor, established just over two years ago.

Fund II is supported by a number of handpicked investors drawn from global private equity funds of funds, a number of eminent European and US based family offices and foundations.

Managing Partner, Garry Wilson announced, “We are delighted to have secured the backing of such a prestigious global investor base. Endless has demonstrated an exceptional track record and delivered outstanding results in its first two years and the firm continues to go from strength to strength. This next phase of our development promises to be even more exciting than our first two years and we intend to do even more and bigger deals.”

Fund II will be dedicated to cementing the firm’s strategy of making debt and equity investments in turnaround situations and will also allow Endless to continue to support buy-outs where appropriate opportunities arise. 

The firm’s largest deal to date is the disposal of Yorkshire-based Peter Black International to Chinese trading giant Li & Fung last August, which resulted in more than £50m of equity value being generated in just over one year.

Partner Darren Forshaw commented, “Fund II will not only enable us to deliver a greater number of deals of the size of Peter Black, but also to continue to transact at our present rate in the lower mid-market. The exceptional support we have received from our investor base over the course of the fundraise is testament to the huge appetite from both sides of the Atlantic for investing in distressed and turnaround situations in the UK.”

Wilson added, “With the recent deterioration in both economic expectations and credit markets, the investment opportunities available to us are noticeably increasing and so the timing of closing this fund is ideal.”

Endless last week announced the appointment of Del Huse as Managing Director of its new London office, building on the firm’s continued geographic expansion and the recent appointment of John Kernohan and Richard Gillan in Northern Ireland. Endless now has 24 people operating across the UK.

Endless was advised by Stephen Robinson, Lora Johnson and Mark Baldwin from Macfarlanes, with additional support from Simon Hardcastle of Walker Morris.