Johannesburg – South Africans have backed Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management‘s inaugural UK private equity fund with £75 million (over R1.6 billion.
The first close was completed in March 2026, and the first investment concluded in April.
The Westbrooke UK Private Equity Fund I was raised mainly from South African high-net-worth individuals and wealth managers seeking hard-currency equity returns.
It is designed to invest in six to eight UK lower mid-market businesses over 24 months, targeting a net investor return of 20%+ per annum and a 2.5x multiple on invested capital.
The close reflects a strong appetite among South African private investors for direct access to quality UK private equity opportunities alongside an experienced investment manager with a heritage as an owner and operator of assets.
The fund’s first investment was a co-investment alongside UK-based sponsor Total Capital Partners in the management buyout of Radiocoms, the UK’s leading critical communications provider.
The transaction demonstrates the fund’s ability to move quickly and purposefully once capital is committed.
“We focus on cash-generative, niche UK businesses that are too small for the big buyout funds, and partner with strong local sponsors to help management teams unlock the next stage of growth,” Rob Grieve, Head of Westbrooke UK Private Equity, told The Bulrushes on Wednesday, 6 May 2024.
“The lower mid-market is where we see the most compelling risk-adjusted returns in UK private equity today, and Radiocoms is a textbook example of exactly the kind of business we want to back.”
The £75 million first close was anchored by South African high-net-worth investors and their wealth managers, channelling offshore allowance capital into a structure that offers portfolio diversification, sterling-denominated returns, and direct exposure to growing UK businesses, with Westbrooke investing materially alongside its clients.
Westbrooke management and shareholders committed over £7.5 million to the strategy.
For South African investors managing foreign investment allowances, Westbrooke’s UK private equity strategy focuses on the UK lower mid-market and offers something that is difficult to replicate elsewhere: attractive equity returns, in a hard currency, from businesses with strong cash flow profiles, backed by a manager with a 20-year private equity track record.
“South African investors are increasingly externalising capital, but thereafter struggle to access proven, specialist managers,” said Dino Zuccollo, Head of Investor Solutions at Westbrooke.
“The fund structure addresses this, providing access to Westbrooke’s proprietary deal flow, diversification, and the option of co-investment.
“The response from South African investors has validated the investment thesis, and the speed with which we deployed into Radiocoms shows the strength of the pipeline.”
The UK private equity market is among the world’s most mature, with £400 billion raised by UK-managed funds since 2015.
Yet the lower mid-market of approximately 196,000 businesses with EBITDAs below £10 million, remains structurally underserved.
Fewer institutional buyers, less intermediation, and founder-sellers who prioritise the right long-term partner over the highest bidder create conditions that disciplined investors can leverage.
Westbrooke has operated in the UK since 2017, arranging and investing over £600 million across more than 200 private transactions.
Its London-based investment team brings on-the-ground knowledge of a market that shares significant cultural, legal, and commercial ties with South Africa.
