The British billionaire and entrepreneur (pictured) has teamed up with London-based investment firm Metric Capital Partners in his first foray into the private equity space, the Financial Times first reported.
Branson and Metric are hoping to raise €500m from institutional investors to target consumer businesses worth up to €2bn, according to two people familiar with details of the fundraise.
The fund, which will start raising money in the coming months, is reportedly the first of three vehicles to be launched in the next few years with Branson as general partner. Canada’s pension fund CPPIB and Saudi Arabia’s PIF have been flagged as investors Branson and Metric are hoping to woo.
The fund will target luxury goods, leisure, food and beverage and other consumer-related businesses in Europe and the US.
Metric Capital provides backing to European small-to-medium sized (SME) companies and has around €1.5bn in assets under management. Its founder John Sinik has known Branson for over 20 years, starting from the Virgin boss’ days at UBS.
Branson’s Virgin Money is notoriously known for its FTSE All Tracker that charges investors 1%, but details of the private equity fund’s charges have not been revealed.
Sources with knowledge of the deal added that the fund will aim for the 20% returns and will give 10% of its profits to women’s and children’s charities.
