Silverfleet Capital as bought fund administration and outsourcing services firm Ipes through a £50 million buy-out.
Guernsey-based Ipes works with the private equity industry to provide services to the closed ended asset class.
The purchase is the second of 2013 for Silverfleet Capital following its January acquisition of manufacturing business A/S Cimbria.
Alongside the management team of Ipes, Silverfleet Capital will now develop the business both organically and through acquisition – with a bias towards international expansion.
Kevin Brennan, chief executive at Ipes, says, ‘Silverfleet has been a customer of Ipes for over 10 years and we are really pleased that they have decided to back us in the next phase of our development.
‘We look forward to working in partnership with them to execute our ambitious plans to expand the business and to build upon our market-leading position.’
More on Silverfleet Capital:
According to the firm, Silverfleet Capital has ‘significant experience’ of investing in heavily regulated businesses in the financial services sector. In 2004, it backed outsourced management and accountancy services business TMF before growing it to a state where, in 2008, it exited the business through a €750 million transaction, netting it a 6.1x return.
Ipes currently has 130 staff, administering some $50 billion of assets from bases in Jersey, London and Luxembourg, as well as its base in Guernsey.
Ian Oxley, partner at Silverfleet Capital, comments, ‘The outlook for outsourcing of private equity administration is very positive as funds have to manage increasingly regulatory and investor demands which are costly to provide in-house.
‘Legislation including AIFMD, FATCA and Dodd-Frank will generate significant new reporting requirements and this in turn will create an opportunity for Ipes as it works with fund managers to ensure compliance with these regulations.’
