Ben joined Beech Tree’s Birmingham office in 2017 and now specialises in the Financial Services and Business Services sectors. Since joining Beech Tree, Ben has been instrumental in originating new investments and actively driving the performance of a number of companies in the portfolio, including the execution of multiple bolt-on acquisitions.
Ben notably worked on both the investments in, and exits of, Redstor (a data management platform) and Fluent Money (a fin-tech platform) which were very successful investments generating returns of £92 million representing over 3.7x the money invested in these two transactions. He was also heavily involved in the investments of Advanta Wealth and also BCN Group, an investment which returned £57 million to our investors, representing 5.3x the money invested in this portfolio company.
He currently sits on the board of Obsequio, a fire and water safety compliance platform that is undertaking a buy and build in the sector, Avid Insurance Services, a leading MGA in the financial services sector and CovertSwarm, an ethical hacking business. Ben’s role in these transactions and others has resulted in him previously being nominated for the “Emerging Midland’s Dealmaker of the Year” on several occasions.
Commenting on the promotion, Paul Franks, Managing Partner of Beech Tree Private Equity said “This feels exactly the right time for Ben to progress to Director. He has shown his capability to find exciting deals in our sub-sectors, work with management teams to build some standout businesses and ultimately generate strong returns for our investors. This promotion is entirely merited, and we are delighted to award him this promotion”.
Ben commented “I’m thrilled to have been promoted to Director and would like to thank all of my Beech Tree colleagues for their support over the last six years - it’s been a real privilege to be part of the firm’s growth journey over this time. I’m excited about what the future holds for Beech Tree as we continue to grow as firm, and I’m looking forward to working with more fantastic management teams to help build category-leading businesses”.
