Institutional investors continue to enjoy enviable returns from Private Equity - which is why Tower Gate Capital (TGC) is opening up Private Equity investment to a wider range of investors including hedge funds, wealth managers, family offices and sophisticated high net worth individuals.

We provide access to opportunities in the UK and US through a number of carefully structured vehicles, including Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC), Targeted Acquisition Companies (TAC), Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) transactions and pre-IPO financings. Our investment solutions offer flexibility, liquidity and a range of arbitrage and risk management opportunities not available to investors in traditional, long-term Private Equity funds.

Why Private Equity?

Investing in well-managed, high-growth companies can generate returns significantly above the stock market average - which is why Private Equity (PE) has become such a dynamic sector. PE-backed firms now employ 18% of the UK private sector workforce and, in 2004 alone, £9.7 billion was invested by the UK PE industry, the vast majority in management led buy-outs.

This represents a sound investment, since returns to 2004 outperformed both Total UK Pension Funds Assets and the principal stock market indices over both the medium and long term (see figure 1.0). Over one, three, five and ten years, total UK PE also outperformed all FTSE indices, with the 2004 FTSE 250 index being the sole exception. The most relevant segment, mid-sized management buy-out (MBO) funds, has been the strongest performer of all (see figure 2.0).

Figure 1.0: Fund Performance (1980 - 2004) One year: 19.8% Three year: 11.5% p.a. Five year: 19.4% p.a. Ten year: 14.8% p.a.

Figure 2.0: Mid-sized MBO fund performance One year: 29.6% Three year: 13.7% p.a. Five year: 10.7% p.a. Ten year: 12.5% p.a.

Source: BVCA and PricewaterhouseCoopers performance survey, 2004.

Accessing the benefits

Most PE capital is currently tied up in long-term, illiquid and often opaque funds controlled by institutional investors, so accessing those returns can be hard for non-institutional investors - especially those looking to generate absolute returns over varying time horizons. That is why Tower Gate Capital has designed a range of PE investment solutions that are flexible, transparent and, above all, liquid. Our listed PE buy-out vehicles keep you in touch with your capital and allow you to build a portfolio over time as further vehicles are launched across a range of sectors and geographies.

Private Equity investment opportunities

We offer investors extremely high-quality investment opportunities. We structure products and vehicles to provide access to new asset classes, minimise investor risk and, where possible, ensure liquidity. Our structured products and investment opportunities include:

• Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC): listed private equity investment vehicles that are run by senior management teams to acquire or capitalise as yet unidentified companies, all within a carefully structured investor protection framework.
  
  
• Targeted Acquisition Companies (TAC): listed buy-out vehicles run by senior management to acquire or reverse in an identified target company. Also, includes a SPAC secondary offering.
  
  
• Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE): through UK and US networks, provision of access to high growth small and mid-cap public companies seeking an alternative to the traditional institutional sources of finance.
  
  
• Pre-IPO Financing: access to investment opportunities that bridge the gap between private company investment and the public markets although we often structure hybrid instruments to minimise liquidity risk.
  
  
• Venture Capital and Private Company Buy Outs: provision of access to higher risk private company investment opportunities in the UK and US and syndication of debt and equity requirements for MBOs or MBIs involving large, well established businesses.

Contact us

If you would like to know more about our structured Private Equity investment opportunities, please contact us or download our more detailed guide.