Lyceum relaunches with new fund and new name – exclusive

The team behind Lyceum Capital Partners, which cut short fundraising in January, has launched a new firm targeting European technology and business services firms.

Horizon Capital will make investments of between £10 million ($13.1 million; €11.4 million) and £50 million in high-growth opportunities in the UK and Northern Europe, with a particular focus on buy-and-build strategies, according to a statement from the firm seen by Private Equity International.

Lyceum managing partners Jeremy Hand and Simon Hitchcock, along with partners Luke Kingston, Adam Lewis and Martin Squier make up the senior leadership of the new firm. Horizon will continue to manage Lyceum’s portfolio companies.

“Significant dry powder is available to continue to support the growth plans of all portfolio companies including further planned add-on acquisitions,” the statement noted.

In early October the firm closed Horizon 2018, a seven-year, £200 million investment vehicle backed by Pantheon, Idinvest Partners, Lombard Odier, HQ Capital and EQ Asset Management. Rede Partners acted as placement agent on the fundraise, which took six months.

The vehicle has a two-year investment period and five years for realisations, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Horizon’s backers participated in a tender offer on the 2013-vintage, £330 million Lyceum Capital III, buying stakes from limited partners that wanted to exit. They then made stapled commitments to Horizon 2018. Distributions from Fund III will be routed into Horizon 2018 and will be available for new investments, PEI understands.

In January the UK mid-market firm decided to stop fundraising for its fourth fund and instead switch to a deal-by-deal strategy, Private Equity International reported. Lyceum began informal discussions with investors about raising £375 million. A significant number of LPs were unable to commit due to a range of individual internal issues as well as dampened post-Brexit sentiment.

The same month seven partners resigned from the firm: Andrew Aylwin, who was responsible for investor relations and fundraising, Dan Adler, Jonathan Bourn, Geoff Neville, Mark Rogerson, Ian Williams and Martin Wygas. Several of the departing partners continue to serve on the boards of the firm’s portfolio companies.