Toscafund launches €300m fund to invest in unlisted financial and business services companies

Multi-asset manager Toscafund has launched a new €300m private investment fund, to invest in financial and business services companies around Europe.

To head the team, Toscafund has hired Fabrizio Cesario and George Koulouris – both formerly of private equity firm Anacap Financial Partners, a financial services specialist.

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The fund will invest across companies’ capital structures, in debt and equity, and will target small- to mid-cap opportunities. It expects to generate returns in excess of 15 per cent each year for investors.

“Toscafund and our associated private equity business, Penta Capital, have a proven track record in monetising excellent gains from investments in private financial and business services companies,” said chief executive Martin Hughes.

“The number of opportunities that come our way will ensure that the new fund is a complementary enhancement to our group offerings for clients that seek safe, mid-teens annual returns.”

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Toscafund’s investors include pension funds, institutional funds, private family offices and high net worth individuals.

Its other strategies include long and short equities-focused hedge funds, commercial and residential property funds, collaborative and activist funds, debt funds focused on smaller UK businesses and private equity.

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