SA investors drive £75m first close for Westbrooke UK fund
South African investors have shown strong appetite for offshore private equity exposure, backing Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management’s inaugural UK private equity fund with £75m (more than R1.6bn).
Source: Supplied. Rob Grieve, head of Westbrooke UK Private Equity.
The first close was completed in March 2026, with the fund already concluding its first investment a month later.
Raised largely from high-net-worth individuals and wealth managers, the Westbrooke UK Private Equity Fund I will target six to eight UK lower mid-market businesses over two years, aiming to deliver hard-currency returns exceeding 20% annually alongside long-term capital growth.
The fund’s first investment was a co-investment alongside UK-based sponsor Total Capital Partners in the management buyout of Radiocoms, the UK's leading critical communications provider. The transaction demonstrates the fund's ability to move quickly and purposefully once capital is committed.
"We focus on cash-generative, niche UK businesses that are too small for the big buyout funds, and partner with strong local sponsors to help management teams unlock the next stage of growth," says Rob Grieve, head of Westbrooke UK Private Equity.
"The lower mid-market is where we see the most compelling risk-adjusted returns in UK private equity today, and Radiocoms is a textbook example of exactly the kind of business we want to back."
The £75m first close was anchored by South African high-net-worth investors and their wealth managers, channelling offshore allowance capital into a structure that offers portfolio diversification, sterling-denominated returns, and direct exposure to growing UK businesses, with Westbrooke investing materially alongside its clients.
Westbrooke management and shareholders committed over £7.5m to the strategy.
Offshore investment appetite
For South African investors managing foreign-investment allowances, Westbrooke’s UK private equity strategy focuses on the UK lower mid-market and offers something that is difficult to replicate elsewhere: attractive equity returns, in a hard currency, from businesses with strong cash flow profiles, backed by a manager with a 20-year private equity track record.
"South African investors are increasingly externalising capital, but thereafter struggle to access proven, specialist managers," says Dino Zuccollo, head of Investor Solutions at Westbrooke.
"The fund structure addresses this, providing access to Westbrooke’s proprietary deal flow, diversification and the option of co-investment. The response from South African investors has validated the investment thesis, and the speed with which we deployed into Radiocoms shows the strength of the pipeline."
The UK private equity market is among the world's most mature, with £400bn raised by UK-managed funds since 2015. Yet the lower mid-market of approximately 196,000 businesses with EBITDAs below £10m, remains structurally underserved.
Fewer institutional buyers, less intermediation, and founder-sellers who prioritise the right long-term partner over the highest bidder create conditions that disciplined investors can leverage.
Westbrooke has operated in the UK since 2017, arranging and investing over £600m across more than 200 private transactions. Its London-based investment team brings on-the-ground knowledge of a market that shares significant cultural, legal, and commercial ties with South Africa.