Bridgepoint

With the festive season already in full swing, we wanted to spotlight a few of the causes our colleagues have been able to support throughout the year in partnership with the Bridgepoint Charitable Trust (BCT).    The BCT supports a range of charitable causes year-round, across the many communities in which we operate. It also supports the individual fundraising efforts of colleagues by matching contributions to their chosen charity.   👇 Watch the video below to learn more about some of our charity efforts in 2024 👇   🎄 From all of us at the Bridgepoint Group, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year🎄   With thanks to James Murray Lily Amyot Edward Woods Edward Appleton Doug Porter Katie Cotterell Oliver Smiddy Teresa Pastor Alonso Maximilian von Rhein Emily Siemens (neé Fricke) Carsten Kratz Christopher Brackmann and Tamara Fernández.

We are pleased to announce that Bridgepoint has partnered with Surikat AB, a leading provider of innovative software solutions for the maritime and logistics sectors, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Serving clients in more than 35 countries, Surikat specialises in addressing the complex operational needs of ports, terminals, and transportation operators globally. The company’s innovative platform empowers businesses to optimise their supply chains with enhanced visibility, efficiency, and resilience. Benefitting from Bridgepoint’s international network and proven expertise in scaling high-growth technology businesses globally, Surikat will be supported to accelerate its growth journey, expand its product offering and further cement its position as a market leader. We look forward to working closely with Andreas Karlsson, CEO and Founder, throughout this exciting new chapter for the company. Congratulations to the Bridgepoint Growth team who worked on this transaction, including Ann Dahlman, Anthony Rowland and Martin Warin. 👉 Read more about today’s announcement here: https://lnkd.in/eyzajByf

Paul Johnson, Deputy Managing Partner and Chairman of Direct Lending at Bridgepoint Credit, recently sat down with 9fin as part of their 9Questions series, sharing his views on the trends shaping private credit and driving Bridgepoint’s approach. Key takeaways from the discussion include: 👉 Our strong performance throughout 2024: “Looking back on the year, I think spreads remained very stable throughout Q2 and Q3. Our average spread in 2024 is a fraction under 575bps. Today, I would say the market clearing price for a high quality European mid-market deal is around 550bps, which represents a healthy premium over the large-cap market. At that spread, even with current base rates, new deals are still pricing to return over 9%. For senior secured risk, we have been lending at 32% loan-to-value this year. That level of return remains pretty compelling.”   👉 A promising outlook for Direct Lending in 2025: “2024 has seen a very welcome increase in deal activity as valuations become less volatile, inflation has begun to normalise, and rates have passed their peak. All of which is aggregating together to boost confidence in the private equity community to get back to deal making.” 👉 What differentiates Bridgepoint: “As part of the wider Bridgepoint Group platform, we can tap into the years of institutional knowledge we have through owning, if not the same business, almost certainly we will have owned or do own a competitor, customer, or supplier of a similar business. If that case has worked well, it gives us conviction to lend and be deliverable to the sponsor. Importantly too, it also may give us reason to pause and step back from an opportunity, which ultimately is what our investors are looking for in us.”   Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/efynQh6n

Following on from our recent event in Korea, Bridgepoint recently hosted its second Credit Academy event in Kuala Lumpur, welcoming 26 attendees from Malaysia’s leading institutions and family offices. Across interactive sessions delivered by our subject matter experts – Andrew Cleland-Bogle, Jan Swärd, Vivian Ngan and Maxime Alban – we explored key topics such as credit assessment, structuring leveraged buyouts, sourcing and converting primary deals, and best practices in due diligence. A lively Q&A showed that private credit remains front of mind for investors in the dynamic Malaysian market. Thank you to all of our attendees, as well as to the event’s organising team. 

We recently hosted our Bridgepoint Credit Academy in Seoul, welcoming 70 attendees from 32 institutions, including some of Korea’s most respected investors.   Over the course of this half-day academy – the first private credit educational event in Korea – our Direct Lending team shared lessons and expertise on:   📊 Key considerations in credit analysis 📋 How to effectively structure leveraged buyout financing 💡 Best practices in due diligence and portfolio management strategies   The event captured the growing importance of private credit in Korea's investment landscape. Thank you to all those who attended, and with whom we continue to foster relationships with in Korea.    Special thanks also to our organising team Eungsik Um, Dennis H. and DK B. and subject matter experts – Andrew Cleland-Bogle, Jan Swärd, Vivian Ngan and Maxime Alban – for their insightful presentations.

Angeles Garcia-Poveda, Non-Executive Director of Bridgepoint’s Group Board, and Carole BROZYNA, our Head of Sustainability, participated in the Giverny de la Gouvernance summit in Paris this week.   Angeles led an insightful roundtable discussion on the partnership between Boards and management teams, exploring how strong governance can be a powerful driver of sustainable progress. Her perspectives on fostering resilience and long-term value creation resonated both with Bridgepoint’s philosophy and with the summit's focus on ‘reinvention through governance’.   In a separate panel, Carole discussed the role of governance in the transformation of business models, sharing detail of Bridgepoint’s approach to collaboratively addressing this important topic with management teams across our portfolio.   Our thanks to Cercle de Giverny and Chapter Zero France for hosting these interesting discussions.   👉 Read more about the event here: https://lnkd.in/gRx5u7KQ

This autumn, Oliver Smiddy, Director and Head of Investor Reporting at Bridgepoint, joined his British Army Reserve regiment, the Honourable Artillery Company, on an expedition to Himlung Himal (7,126m) in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas. Out of 16 team members, Oli was one of five to reach the summit, completing an intense 20-hour round trip from Camp 2. Along the way, the team contributed to a vital global research project, collecting glacier samples to study the airborne dispersion of microplastics. The expedition also served as critical preparation for an even greater challenge for the group: a planned summit of Mount Everest next year. Congratulations to Oli on this achievement and his dedication to pushing personal limits while supporting scientific research – and all while flying Bridgepoint colours 👏 ⛰️

We recently hosted our first Capital Markets Day event, presenting detail on Bridgepoint Group’s performance, outlook and strategy for accelerated growth in the near and medium term.   At the event, Chief Executive Raoul Hughes led discussions of important milestones since our IPO, as well as the firm’s positioning for future success.   Raoul was joined by leaders from across the Group including Douglas Kimmelman, Xavier Robert, Tyler Reeder, Ruth Prior, Chris Busby, Olivier Nemsguern, Andrew Konopelski, Hamish Grant and David Walsh.   Highlights since Bridgepoint’s IPO include: 📈 Strong growth across asset classes, with 2.3x increase in AUM 🎯 Robust financial performance, with nearly 6x growth in fee-related earnings 🌍 True diversification, managing $73+ billion AUM across eight strategies in private equity, infrastructure and credit, from 14 offices around the world   Read more about the Group’s recent performance and future growth strategy here: https://lnkd.in/eYznQutA   Bridgepoint ECP (Energy Capital Partners) #CapitalMarketsDay #MiddleMarket #PrivateMarkets

We recently hosted an evening reception at the flagship store of Monica Vinader Ltd, the award-winning British luxury jewellery brand backed by Bridgepoint. The event brought together many of our valued advisor firms from across corporate finance, legal, due diligence and other specialisations, to connect and celebrate the shared successes of the past years. Alan Payne, Partner and Deputy Head of Bridgepoint Development Capital, expressed the firm’s gratitude to each advisor for their essential role in helping us drive impactful growth for the businesses across our portfolio. As he highlighted, our partnerships are fundamental to our achievements, and we are proud to work alongside such dedicated professionals. Thank you to our organising team, and to all those who joined us for this memorable evening. #Bridgepoint #MonicaVinader #Advisors #PrivateMarkets #Partnerships

In response to the floods that have impacted communities in Valencia and Southern Spain, the Bridgepoint Charitable Trust, working with our Spanish colleagues in Madrid, is proud to support Cruz Roja Española as they deliver critical aid to communities in need.   Our contribution will help fund emergency shelter, essential supplies and medical and psychological support for vulnerable groups, including families with young children, the elderly and those with limited access to resources. This is part of the charity's broader, coordinated effort to support those most affected and to contribute to the rebuilding of resilient communities in Spain.   Our thoughts are with all those affected and, together with our colleagues in Spain and across the global Bridgepoint network, we stand ready to support these communities.   #BridgepointCharitableTrust #CruzRojaEspañola #CommunitySupport