Inspirit Capital raises second fund

Inspirit Capital is pleased to announce the first and final close of Inspirit Fund II, providing the carve-out specialist with up to £75m of additional capital to deploy.

The fund was oversubscribed and closed following a three-month fundraising process. Like Fund I, Inspirit will look to deploy the additional capital into corporate carve-out and other special situation investments in the UK market.

Alongside existing investors and personal commitments from the Inspirit team, a number of new investors have been welcomed into the second fund, including charitable foundations and endowments that mean this category of investor now account for more than 25% of the Fund.

Inspirit’s mandate remains focussed on corporate carve-out transactions in the UK market. Target businesses are generally non-core to the parent strategy and are often complex to separate. Inspirit aims to bring its deep experience in resolving complexity and driving growth to help create standalone businesses that thrive under a new ownership structure.

Inspirit primarily targets control investments in non-core divisions of corporations where target revenue is greater than £20m and the Inspirit funding requirement is between £3m and £10m. Inspirit can complete larger transactions utilising co-investment from its investors, a strategy it successfully deployed in Fund I to broaden the range of target opportunities.

Inspirit believes deal flow will remain strong for smaller to medium-sized corporate carve-outs in the UK, driven primarily by geo-political factors as well as corporates looking to shore up balance sheets in a tougher economic environment.

Inspirit Capital was founded in 2019 by Albert Farrant and Will Stamp who have a combined 30 years experience in executing carve-out and other complex investments.

Albert Farrant said: “We have been delighted with the level of interest that we received for our second fund and are grateful for the support from our investors, as well as the hard work of our growing team. We hope to drive strong returns through continuing to focus on revitalising non-core divisions of large corporations.”

Will Stamp said: “In the current environment, we are in a fortunate position to have committed capital ready to deploy. As has been the case with Fund I investments, we will continue to be a trusted and reliable counterparty for corporate vendors in situations where the transaction dynamic requires a partnership-based approach.”