Limerston Capital Partners I

Limerston Capital Partners I, L.P. is the debut fund of Limerston Capital, a London-based lower mid-market private equity firm founded in 2015 by Joao Rosa (former Investment Director at TDR Capital), James Paget (former Managing Director at UBS Investment Bank) and Martim Avillez (former Executive Director at Nomura and JGR Capital). Registered as an English limited partnership (Companies House LP016795) with GP entity Limerston Capital Partners I GP LLP (OC401165), the fund held its final close above its GBP 200 million target on August 2, 2017. It attracted commitments from a geographically diverse institutional investor base spanning US university endowments (Ohio State University, University of Chicago), pension funds (BJC Pension Plan Trust), charitable foundations (Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust), fund of funds (Commonfund Capital International Partners) and a Swiss cantonal bank (Banque Cantonale de Geneve). MVision Private Equity Advisers served as global placement agent and Latham and Watkins as legal counsel. Limerston Capital is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Fund I pursues a concentrated, operationally intensive control investment strategy targeting UK lower mid-market businesses with entry EBITDA of GBP 4-10 million. Differentiated by in-house sector-specialist operating partners, the firm deploys low initial leverage and focuses on operational improvements to de-risk investments quickly after acquisition, before accelerating growth through a disciplined buy-and-build acquisition programme. Preferred sectors include healthcare services, forensic and commercial services, testing and compliance (TICC), HR outsourcing and consumer food products. The strategy is UK-focused with selective opportunistic extension into Continental Europe and the United States. Across the firm, Limerston has executed 31 buy-and-build acquisitions, demonstrating the systematic nature of the value creation approach.

Fund I's realised track record demonstrates strong risk-adjusted returns. The most prominent exit, Village Bakery — a premium private label baked goods supplier to major UK retailers — was sold to Groupe Menissez of France in July 2024, delivering 3.5x money-on-money and approximately 50% IRR, the fund's third exit. During Limerston's ownership, Village Bakery's staff nearly doubled to over 900 employees and a 140,000 square foot automated bakery was constructed in Wrexham. Forensic Access (acquired 2020) completed four bolt-on acquisitions during the Fund I holding period. The track record of Fund I underpinned the raise of Fund II, which closed at GBP 245 million in March 2024 — a 22.5% step-up reflecting strong investor confidence in the team's continued ability to identify and transform UK mid-market businesses.