Oakley Capital raises a record €2.85 billion for fifth flagship fund

Oakley Capital (“Oakley”), a leading pan-European, mid-market private equity investor, is pleased to announce the close of Oakley Capital V (“Fund V” or “the Fund”) at its hard cap and exceeding its €2.5 billion target.

Fund V’s record raise is almost double the size of predecessor Fund IV, thanks to strong demand from new and existing investors.

• Fund V hits hard cap, nearly doubling the size of its predecessor fund
• Fund target raised in just over six months
• Oakley welcomes 25 new institutional investors from across N America & EMEA
• Continued focus on backing ambitious entrepreneurs and fast-growing, European businesses across core sectors of technology, consumer and education
• Fundraise brings total AuM to €8 billion

Fund V welcomed new LPs from across the world, in particular pension funds from North America, while the Oakley Network which comprises entrepreneurs the Firm has previously partnered with will contribute almost €200 million.

The fresh fundraise will enable Oakley to continue applying the successful investment strategy that has delivered gross realised returns of 4x MM and 67% IRR across all funds since inception. Fund V will maintain the same focus investing behind founders and entrepreneurs in its three core sectors of technology, consumer and education, backing businesses with typical EVs of €100-500m.

Oakley will continue to invest behind the long-term megatrends that have underpinned growth and returns across economic cycles, including the consumer shift to online, business migration to the Cloud, and the growing, global demand for quality, accessible education. It will have a particular focus on niche areas where Oakley has developed deep expertise and completed multiple deals, such as web-hosting, business SaaS, digital marketplaces, and education platforms covering early years through to tertiary learning.

As the first institutional investor in c.90% of its investments, Oakley has a rich pipeline of investment opportunities originated through its unique founder network, which enables the Firm to source differentiated deals in bilateral negotiations outside of auctions. Oakley will continue to focus on its core geographies including the UK, DACH region, Italy and Iberia, whilst also supporting its businesses with international expansion, including into North America.

The new Fund will enable Oakley’s expanded team of c.45 investment professionals operating out of London, Munich and Milan to continue applying the Firm’s proven value creation strategies. They include buy-and-build, where Oakley has supported over 130 bolt-on acquisitions to date; talent development to build strong leadership teams around founders; business transformation such as helping companies to digitise; and ESG, which Oakley increasingly sees as a tool to help companies become more resilient in a fast-changing world.