About Oakley / Our story
Who we are
Oakley Capital Limited is a pan-European investor that aims to back outstanding mid-market businesses across our core sectors of technology, consumer, education and business services to help them succeed in a changing world.
Our story
We invest in businesses across Europe that we consider to be dynamic, profitable, and represent high-growth opportunities. Oakley was founded by an entrepreneur, for entrepreneurs. Our guiding principle is to be the partner of choice to founders, as we believe that exceptional founders establish exceptional businesses with strong potential.
Oakley places its managers and entrepreneurs at the heart of its activities and looks to empower them in the next growth stage of their respective companies. It is this spirit of deep partnership built on mutual trust that we believe enables us to provide the necessary support while also affording portfolio companies the appropriate levels of agency and autonomy.
Sustainability considerations are an important aspect of our investment strategy to manage risks and create long-term value. We are mindful of the complex pressures faced by each business and work together to find solutions to critical challenges. Oakley seeks to accelerate growth and believes value creation must be sustainable, as we prepare these businesses for growth that will continue beyond our period of investment. Oakley believes that embedding sustainability considerations into our investment strategy is central to persevering and creating long-term value.
Spotlight: Supporting our portfolio on their sustainability journey
In June 2024, Oakley hosted its 3rd annual Sustainability Forum. The event brought together our portfolio companies and included case studies, sharing of best practices on topics such as building corporate culture through employee engagement, as well as thematic workshops on material topics for portfolio companies, including GHG emissions, sustainability-related considerations for highly acquisitive businesses, and value creation. Following the positive feedback received on the Sustainability Forum, the Sustainability Team organised a webinar series for portfolio companies in H2 2024, covering topics including social value, supply chain management, human rights and data collection.
Alongside the Sustainability Forum, Oakley hosted a number of portfolio-wide events to support knowledge sharing and strengthen management team capabilities in navigating emerging challenges. The Chief Financial Officer Forum explored the evolving role of finance leaders amid economic and sustainability pressures, while the inaugural AI Forum examined how artificial intelligence can drive innovation, efficiency and long-term value creation. More information on these events can be found on our website.
Our values
At Oakley, we pride ourselves on maintaining a culture of entrepreneurship through teamwork and collaboration, continuous improvement and mentorship, and a dedication to building inclusive teams and culture. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and we recognise that our success is driven by the talent and dedication of our team. We are committed to creating a culture that allows all team members to voice their opinions, share their perspectives and thrive in a supportive work environment.
While these principles have always guided our investment decisions and operations, with the support and input of our founders Peter Dubens and David Till and more than 100 colleagues, we formalised the Oakley Values Charter in January 2024. This has been shared across the organisation through team meetings and continues to drive our ways of working.
The Oakley Values Charter
We have an entrepreneurial mindset
We challenge the status quo and take action to drive our success
We act as a partnership
We foster trust with our colleagues and all of Oakley’s stakeholders
We believe in humility
We embrace a growth mindset and are always open to learning from others