Ross Butler speaks with David Whileman, Partner at Inflexion Private Equity, about the untapped potential of minority private equity investments. David shares how minority investing provides entrepreneurs with the resources to scale without selling their businesses.
The conversation explores the fund’s strategy, its impact on portfolio companies, and the competitive advantages of minority investments in addressing a vast market underserved by traditional private equity.
The Untapped Potential of Minority Investments: David explains how minority investing offers private equity benefits without requiring businesses to sell outright. This approach opens private equity to 75% of companies that are not typically for sale, particularly family-owned or entrepreneur-led businesses.
Inflexion's Partnership Capital Fund Performance: Since launching in 2015, the fund has raised £1.75 billion, completed 24 investments, and exited nine, including several that achieved exceptional growth. David emphasizes the fund’s ability to serve as the first institutional investor for established companies averaging £350 million in value.
Building Trusted Relationships: Key to minority investing is fostering trust and alignment with entrepreneurs. David highlights how Partnership Capital avoids prescriptive exit strategies, allowing for collaborative decisions that benefit both investors and business owners.
Expanding Globally and Corporate Partnerships: Inflexion has extended its reach across Europe and recently into corporate partnerships, where it supports divisions of large corporations seeking independence while maintaining alignment with their parent companies.
Value Creation Beyond Capital: Inflexion delivers more than funding, offering expertise in talent management, technology adoption, pricing strategies, and global expansion. Its offices worldwide provide portfolio companies with the tools to enter new markets and scale effectively.
Cultural Fit and Talent Recruitment: David underlines the importance of hiring professionals with emotional intelligence and entrepreneurial mindsets. He describes Inflexion’s team as diverse and collaborative, ensuring alignment with the needs of entrepreneurs.
RW Blears: Our sponsor for this episode is RW Blears, a UK law firm specialising in fund management. If you are a UK venture capital manager or growth investor and need a trusted legal adviser, visit https://blears.com/
#PrivateEquity #MinorityInvesting #PartnershipCapital #InflexionPrivateEquity #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #PrivateEquityPodcast #DavidWhileman #FundShack #AlternativeInvestments #CollaborativeInvesting #PrivateEquityInsights #RossButler
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