Alcuin, which recently backed the management buy-out of doughnut retailer Krispy Kreme, makes investments of between £2 million and £10 million in growth capital and buy-out transactions. Its target companies are valued between £5 and £30 million and operate across all sectors in the UK.
A number of existing and new institutional investors and family offices across the UK, Europe and the US, including Alliance Trust Equity Partners, the European Investment Fund and Parish Capital Advisors have backed the third fund. The final close follows an initial pause in fundraising in January this year after the fund reached £81 million.
The Third Alcuin Fund has already made five investments: Agrivert, an organic waste recycling and waste-to-energy company; AudioGo, an audio book publisher; Tasker & Partners, a Lloyd’s insurance broker; Osprey, a niche publishing house; and, Krispy Kreme.
Mark Storey and Ian Henderson-Londoño founded the London-based firm in 2002 after leaving BancBoston Capital. From its earlier funds, Alcuin made investments in companies such as coffee chain Caffè Nero, PR software business Glide Technologies and Adapt, a fast-growing hosting and managed services company.
In October, the firm made an investment through the third fund in Krispy Kreme UK as part of a management buy-out that will support its growth plans.
Krispy Kreme opened its first UK store in London in October 2003 and has since opened 45 stores across the UK, in cities such as Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol. The company also operates more than 350 in-store cabinets with retail partners including Tesco. Over the next four years, the company will focus on growing its core business, which will take its total number of UK sites to 80 by 2015.
