Press Release:
Liverpool based fund manager River Capital, has announced the appointments of Dave Furlong and Ben Gregory to its Private Equity team.
Dave joins River Capital as an Investment Director and brings a 20-year track record of investing and lending into the SME, Mid-Market and leveraged finance markets across a wide range of sectors, sizes, and geographies. This includes senior positions within HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group.
His most recent roles include a three-year stint at Maven Capital Partners where he was responsible for leading the development and management of the equity component of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund across the North-West. The fund has successfully supported a large number of high potential North West based businesses.
Ben joins as an Investment Manager from CorpAcq, a buy-and-build group based in South Manchester. Ben, who initially trained as a Chartered Accountant, first moved into the investing world with a role at Maven where he worked with Dave and held both portfolio management and investment roles across a range of funds.
Both bring extensive North West networks that will create opportunities to connect with businesses seeking equity investment and who are ready to go on a growth journey.
The appointments significantly strengthen the PE arm of the business, and will see Dave and Ben manage the recently launched £10m North West Private Equity Fund, focussing on businesses looking for equity partners to help accelerate their development, explore a management buy out / in or personal de-risking, or who are keen to grow through acquisition.
This is the latest in a spate of River Capital appointments over the past 18 months with the firm continuing strong growth across all areas of the business, reflecting River Capital’s optimism for and commitment to SME businesses across the North West.
River Capital CEO Mark Borzomato said on the appointments:
“We are delighted to welcome Dave and Ben to the River Capital team. They bring with them a wealth of experience and drive which will be invaluable as we continue to expand our private equity offering.
Their appointments are a reflection of the progress the business has made in recent years, and will support delivery of our ambitious growth plans.
Dave Furlong said:
“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to join River Capital at such an exciting time for the business and to be working with Ben on the North West Private Equity Fund. The North West has a large number of high quality SMEs for whom access to this type of capital has often been hard to come by. The fund addresses this gap in the market, and I believe our team can add a huge amount of value and support in assisting our investee companies in delivering their growth plans.
Ben Gregory added:
I am excited to be joining River Capital as there is undoubtedly a real opportunity to support SME businesses who are looking at private equity investment. Initial conversations with businesses and advisors across the region reflect this demand and have been incredibly positive with regards the fund and what it is trying to achieve.
ENDS