SPAIN – London based pan-European fund management group, Duke Street Capital Group (DSCG) has launched Iberduke Capital Partners (IPC), a private equity fund management company based in Madrid.

The new company, in which DSCG holds 51% and IPC’s management team and its Portuguese partner, Finpro, the remaining 49%, is already in the process of raising its first investment vehicle, Iberduke Participaciones, (IP) which has just completed its first close at €80m and expects a final close around €120m later this year.

Its core management team will be Robert Warfield, previously managing director of Inversiones Ibersuizas; Antonio Regalado, former head of acquisitions at Larios; and Miguel Gimenez, former head of expansion and development at Grupo Osuna. In addition, Antonio Santos of Finpro will actively support the management team.

According to DSCG, IP will become one of the largest independent private equity investment vehicles in the Iberian Peninsula focusing on mid-market buy-outs. It is expected to have an average enterprise value of €30-300m and target the leisure, media, business support and various industrial sectors in which DSCG already has an established practice.

ICP will seek to make between two and four acquisitions with an average enterprise value of €100m to enable it to “establish leading market positions not only in their local markets but across Europe as well”.

The new company intends to operate in line with DSCG’s history of buy and build cross border investment transactions.

Says Robert Warfield: “Setting up ICP can be seen as a step towards DSCG becoming more involved across Europe at local level, maximising the use of local knowledge to make sure it is on the right track in developing its participation in private equity markets.”

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