British Business Bank has committed £20m to the latest fund from Northern Irish private equity group Cordovan Capital Management.
The deal from the UK development bank was made as part of its recently adopted growth equity strategy, which encourages it to invest in PE funds backing smaller, high-growth businesses.
Founded in 2011, Belfast-based Cordovan specialises in SME buyouts across the UK and Ireland.
The firm takes majority shareholdings in small businesses, typically via management buy-outs and works with the senior team to scale them.
“We are pleased to make this first commitment to Cordovan Capital Management, which has provided vital support to smaller businesses across the UK and particularly in Northern Ireland,” said Adam Kelly, managing director and co-head of funds at British Business Bank.
“Our commitment will unlock additional capital for UK businesses, addressing regional imbalances and driving further economic expansion across the full breadth of the Nations and regions.”
Cordovan is led by partners and co-owners Mike Irvine and Daniel Anderson.
Anderson said: “The British Business Bank’s mission to enable small businesses to prosper is deeply aligned with Cordovan’s, so we are delighted to partner with what is one of the UK’s leading institutional private equity investors to deploy capital into the UK and Irish SME community.”