Nineteen months. Three Investors. No go.
London-based Mowbray Capital is calling it quits on what is believed to be the first private equity fund of funds dedicated to European ventures. Guy-Fraser-Sampson, the firm’s managing partner – formerly of Horsely Bridge Partners – told Financial News that since its debut, the firm worked hard to get commitments but in the end decided “the size of the fund was not likely to generate sufficient management fees.” His sights were comparatively low: between €100 million (US$120.9 million) and €300 million (US$362.8 million). For some, the move is no surprise: Euro VC had been down in the dumps for some time, and while some firms have raised successful funds, such as Index Ventures and Benchmark Capital, the continent apparently is not quite ready for a Europe-only fund of funds, FN reports.
Meanwhile, London-based hedge fund manager NorthBay Investment Management is shutting down, as the 3-year-old fund that specialized in fixed-income relative value investing lost money for 30 consecutive months after growing for the first six, according to FN. Observers say NorthBay attracted investors on the strength of the reputation of founder Luke Halestrap, a former JPMorgan swap-market trader, but the strategy it chose just isn’t popular. The decision to close came after NorthBay lost 20% of its assets, says FN.