Graphite Capital promotes three, expands team with hires

UK-based Graphite Capital, a middle market private equity firm, has made a number of promotions. Mike Innes has been promoted to the firm’s management board; Liam McGivern has been upped to investment director and Denise Bartolo is now director of investor relations. And, the firm has expanded its team with several appointments. Among them are Lara Markham and Sophie Davies who joined the team as investment executives and Neel Popat as an investment manager.

PRESS RELEASE

Graphite Capital, the leading UK mid-market private equity specialist, is pleased to announce a number of promotions and appointments.

Mike Innes has been promoted to Graphite’s Management Board. Innes joined Graphite in 2005 and has led and structured a variety of investments, including Beck & Pollitzer, Trenchard Aviation and Dominion Gas. He has a particular focus on the industrial and energy sectors.

Liam McGivern has been promoted to investment director and Denise Bartolo to director of investor relations. McGivern joined Graphite in 2014 and has since been working on a number of transactions in the services sector, including Graphite’s investments in sk:n and nGage. He previously worked on European mezzanine investments at Pricoa Capital Group. Bartolo joined Graphite in 2008 and worked in portfolio management prior to moving to investor relations.

Graphite has also significantly expanded its investment team in the past twelve months, making five new appointments. John Western and Tony Saade joined last year as investment managers. Western was previously a member of the M&A team at Jefferies where he worked for both private equity and corporate clients. Before joining Graphite, Saade worked at Duke Street in the consumer and business services sectors and, prior to that, at Roland Berger in strategy consulting.

Neel Popat joined Graphite as an investment manager in January this year from European Capital, where he worked in the consumer and business services sectors, having previously worked in M&A in Rothschild’s investment banking division.

Lara Markham and Sophie Davies have joined as investment executives. Markham joined in March from OC&C Strategy Consultants, where she worked in M&A and corporate strategy across the consumer, business services and TMT sectors. Davies joined in May from Goldman Sachs, where she headed up the EMEA convertible bond trading desk, having previously worked in equity derivative sales.

Rod Richards, Graphite managing partner, said: “We are delighted to recognise the contributions that Mike, Liam and Denise have made to Graphite’s business. We are also pleased to have grown the team considerably over the last year. This investment in people leaves us well-resourced to complete the investment programme for our eighth fund and to begin the fund-raising for our ninth.”

About Graphite Capital
Graphite is a specialist provider of private equity finance to mid-market companies in the UK. Graphite focuses on management buy-outs and also invests in replacement capital, expansion finance and turnaround opportunities. It backs companies with enterprise values of £25 million to £200 million.

In September 2013 Graphite raised £500 million for its eighth fund, Graphite Capital Partners VIII. The fund’s investments are: City & County Healthcare Group, the UK’s largest home care provider; nGAGE, a fast-growing recruitment business serving a range of niche areas within the public and private sectors; ICR, an energy industry repair and maintenance group; Trenchard Aviation, a civil aircraft maintenance business focusing on cabin services; New World Trading Company, an operator of pub restaurants; and Beck & Pollitzer, a market leader in industrial machinery installation and relocation.

Graphite’s previous fund invested in businesses in a variety of industry sectors including: Kurt Geiger, the luxury shoe retailer; Alexander Mann Solutions, the global market leader in recruitment process outsourcing; Education Personnel, the leading provider of supply teachers and teaching assistants to state schools in the UK; and London Square, a house-builder focused on prime sites with the M25.

See the website: www.graphitecapital.com