New advisors at West Private Equity

West Private Equity (WPE), the European mid-market buyout firm, has announced that Phillip Rhodes and Nicholas Temple are joining the firm’s Business Council to advise on origination and investment strategy. 

The pair will be joining David Svendsen, a former chairman and CEO of Microsoft UK, adding senior management experience in IT and services, sectors that WPE is focused on.  

Rhodes is chairman of Asquith Court Schools, the group of primary and preparatory schools that WPE acquired in May 2001. He also sits on the non-executive board of Workspace Group, the listed property investment group. Temple is a former chairman of IBM UK and holds a number of executive and non-executive directorships in the UK.

WPE, which is led by former Investcorp executive Philip Buscombe, manages a E400m buyout fund that counts founding partner WestLB, Gimv, European Investment Fund, CIBC and San Paolo IMI among its limited partners. Closed in October 2000, the fund has invested in seven buyouts with a total valuation of E355m to date.