Ashurst advises Inflexion Private Equity on a £1 Billion Simultaneous Double Fund-Raising

Ashurst's investment funds group advised Inflexion Private Equity on the simultaneous closings of two new private equity funds. Inflexion Enterprise Fund V raised £400m and Supplemental Fund V raised £600m from Inflexion's existing client base of institutional investors from across Europe, the US and Asia.

Similar to the previous fundraisings, the Inflexion and Ashurst teams worked together extremely closely to deliver the fund-raisings on the planned closing date, at the hard cap and without the support of a placement agent. The funds were raised in around 10 weeks.

• Inflexion Enterprise Fund V will continue Inflexion's strategy of backing high growth, entrepreneurial businesses with ambitious management teams and working in partnership with them to accelerate growth.
• Inflexion Supplemental Fund V will invest primarily alongside Inflexion Buyout Fund V and Inflexion Partnership Capital Fund II, two funds on which the Ashurst funds team previously advised. In particular it will provide Inflexion with additional capital to co-invest alongside its larger buyout and partnership capital investments.

Piers Warburton, global head of Ashurst's investment funds practice, led an international Ashurst team comprising specialist lawyers from the firm's London and New York offices. The team included partners Alexander Cox (tax), Jake Green (UK regulatory), Margaret Sheehan (US securities law) and Sharon Kim (US tax), counsel Alastair Ladkin (tax), senior associates Neil Ziatabari and Andreas Elofs (funds), senior associate Fiona Palamarczuk (funds finance) and associate Michelle Tsang (funds). Carey Olsen advised on Guernsey law matters.

Piers Warburton commented: "We were delighted to act for Inflexion again on this rapid double fund-raising. The speed of the fund-raising demonstrates the commitment of Inflexion's investors, and the continuing demand for the best mid-market private equity investment opportunities. The funds included innovations developed in previous Inflexion fund-raisings, including the distribution of 1% of fund profits to the Inflexion Foundation to support charitable initiatives. The close relationship and careful co-ordination of the Ashurst and Inflexion teams allowed for a highly efficient fund-raising, with both funds being closed with all investors, at their hard caps and on the target date."

The Ashurst funds group has advised Inflexion on all five generations of their funds, including the previous simultaneous double fund raising of Inflexion Buyout Fund V and Inflexion Partnership Capital Fund II in 2018.

The team has also won numerous awards for fund-raisings on which it has advised over recent years, including:

• Law Firm of the Year - Europe, Private Debt Investor Awards 2018
• Law Firm of the Year - Fund Structuring, unquote British Private Equity Awards 2015
• A "standout" ranking for Corporate and Commercial, FT Innovative Lawyers Awards 2015