Senior deal maker appointed to expanding Key team in Leeds
Experienced private equity investor James Hall has joined private equity house, Key, as a director based at the firm’s Leeds head office.
James has 16 years’ experience within the sector having held senior positions with a number of private equity houses including Royal Bank Development Capital, ISIS Equity Partners and NorthEdge Capital where he led half of its deals as well as having established and headed up its Leeds office. He has also acted as a non-executive director for a number of businesses including Fine Organics and Ramsdens Financial; and most recently he worked with Sheffield-based games developer Sumo Digital.
James’ appointment follows the recent first closing of Key’s new £80m fund which is seeking to invest equity sums of between £3m and £15m in profitable, dynamic businesses. In his new role, James will work with Leeds-based partners Peter Armitage and Owen Trotter to deploy the fund into new investments across the North of England.
Key is a small specialist team with a strong reputation and a great market position. I know from my own experience that there’s still a real lack of funding for SMEs with many PE houses having moved up to make larger investments. The deal flow in the smaller buy-out market is definitely there and I’m very excited about working with one of the most experienced teams in this field to enable fast-growing businesses to realise their potential.
Key investment partner Peter Armitage said: “James is a perfect fit for our team. His excellent track record of investing and helping to grow businesses along with his strong reputation is just what we need as we seek investment opportunities with entrepreneurial firms throughout Yorkshire, the North East and North West.”
Key has offices in Leeds and London.