Next Capital Fund IV
Next Capital is an independently owned Australian private equity firm focused on the mid-market, established in 2005 by former Macquarie Bank executives Patrick Elliott, Sandy Lockhart and John White. The firm targets control investments in businesses with enterprise values typically between A$50 million and A$200 million, where it can partner with management teams to accelerate growth, execute operational improvements and deliver strategic transformations.
The firm’s investment philosophy emphasises building long-term value through hands-on engagement, governance support and growth capital, with a strong history of repositioning companies for growth in Australia and New Zealand, as well as driving bolt-on acquisitions and sector consolidation.
Next Capital Fund IV, a 2019 vintage fund with approximately A$350 million in investor commitment. The Fund aims to target the lower to mid market growth and buyout opportunities into profitable Australia & New Zealand businesses, generally with enterprise values between A$50 million and A$200 million.
Portfolio Companies
At investment in December 2019, Silverchef was a market-leading hospitality equipment funding business operating across Australia, New Zealand and Canada, providing equipment rental and financing solutions including its successful Rent-Try-Buy product.
The thesis aims to leverage Next Capital’s financial services expertise to strengthen governance, enhance risk and credit controls and invest in systems and reporting to support disciplined growth across multiple geographies.
Silver Chef remains an active investment, continuing to operate as a specialist financier to the hospitality sector across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US.
At investment in December 2019, InterHealthCare was a newly established aggregator of allied health practices founded by CEO Jason McMillan, with an initial portfolio of physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic practices across Australia’s eastern states.
The thesis was to create a market leader of scale by consolidating high-quality health practices, providing centralised back-office support and enabling clinicians to focus on clinical outcomes and patient care.
While IHC later faced financial challenges in a difficult market, during its period of operation the business successfully aggregated a broad range of practices, provided centralised support for health professionals and demonstrated the potential for a multi-disciplinary allied health consolidation model in Australia.
At investment in December 2019, TM Insight was a privately owned supply chain consulting business, founded in 2010, providing advisory, property and implementation services with long-standing blue-chip customer relationships.
Next Capital’s thesis aims to expand TMI’s integrated service model across supply chain, property, project services, commercial & leisure and to leverage its reputation to accelerate growth across Australia and into Asia.
TMI remains an active investment and now employs over 50 staff across offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Singapore, servicing some of Australia’s largest food, FMCG, retail and logistics companies.
At investment in July 2020, Eptec was a specialist contractor providing asset preservation, life extension and maintenance services to defence, marine, transport and infrastructure clients in Australia.
The thesis is centred on supporting Eptec’s growth in highly technical, time-critical projects through investment in its core marine and infrastructure services and to expand its customer base of government and prime contractors.
Eptec remains an active investment, continuing to deliver complex projects across naval and commercial marine operators as well as transport and infrastructure sectors, with a strong pipeline of long-term contracts.
At investment in November 2020, Enviropacific was a market-leading environmental remediation specialist delivering engineering and applied science solutions to prevent and treat contamination across Australia.
The thesis aims to capitalise on increasing government and infrastructure spend, leveraging EPS’s leading position and proprietary Solve facility in Melbourne to expand its hazardous waste treatment and engineered solutions businesses.
EPS remains an active investment and today services a wide range of blue-chip clients across government, infrastructure and residential sectors, with long-term demand supported by urbanisation and sustainability trends.
At investment in June 2022, Jucy was a budget car and campervan rental company operating across Australia and New Zealand, focused on serving international travellers and backpackers.
The thesis is to position Jucy to benefit from the rebound in Australasian tourism following the reopening of international borders and to strengthen its market position in the budget travel sector.
Jucy remains an active investment and continues to operate as a leading campervan rental brand, capitalising on renewed demand from both domestic and international travellers.
At investment in September 2022, Compare Club was one of Australia’s leading personal finance marketplaces, offering comparison and brokerage services across health insurance, life insurance and home loans.
Next Capital’s thesis aims to back a proven management team to scale Compare Club’s end-to-end digital marketing and sales platform, deepen penetration in its three key verticals and expand it into new channels and product offerings.
Compare Club remains an active investment and has engaged more than 3.7 million members and remains well positioned to capture growth in the personal finance comparison sector.
