Searchlight Capital, a private equity investment firm based in the US and Canada, has acquired Gresham House, the alternative asset manager.

Gresham House is an AIM-listed alternative asset manager which specialises in environmental, housing and infrastructure investments, such as decarbonisation initiatives, battery storage and renewable energy. It currently manages around £8bn worth of assets.

The deal is worth £470m – since it was announced, Gresham House shares have increased 50 per cent in value, a nod to the weight of international investment in the UK alternative investing sector.

Commenting on the Acquisition, Anthony Townsend, Chairman of Gresham House, said: “Since the management buy-in in 2014, Gresham House has been transformed into a leading specialist alternative asset manager. Today’s offer delivers shareholders a 4x return over this period. The Gresham House Board believes that it represents a compelling opportunity in the current challenging economic environment for shareholders to realise, with certainty, Gresham House’s potential for long-term future value creation.

“The acquisition by Searchlight starts a new and exciting chapter for Gresham House. We are confident that Searchlight will accelerate our international and domestic growth strategy and their long-term capital and global expertise will support and enhance our investment teams’ ability to deliver returns to clients”.

James Redmayne, Partner at Searchlight Capital Partners UK, LLP, said: “We are excited to invest in Gresham House and partner with Tony Dalwood and his highly talented management team. Their achievements in building Gresham House over the past eight years to its position as a leading Natural Capital and Sustainability focused asset manager have been hugely impressive”.

Giles Marshall, Partner at Searchlight Capital Partners UK, LLP, added: “We very much look forward to supporting the team in the coming years, both through capital to help drive their organic and inorganic growth plans, as well as providing access to Searchlight’s extensive international network.”

The deal is part of a string of US private equity investment in the UK financial advice and management market over the past few years, including Cortina Bidco’s takeover of AFH, and Beaufort Group’s sale to PE-backed Solomon Capital.

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