Equistone bolsters investment team with UK appointment

Equistone Partners Europe (“Equistone”), one of Europe’s leading mid-market private equity investors, today announces the appointment of Edward Baker as an Investment Manager in its London office, where he begins his role with immediate effect.

Edward joins Equistone from lower-mid-market private equity firm MML Capital Partners, where he worked in its London office for four years. During his time at the firm, Edward was responsible for originating and executing both controlling and non-controlling investments into private UK businesses across a diverse range of sectors, as well as for portfolio management. Prior to this, Edward spent six years at KPMG, latterly as a Manager in the company’s Transaction Services division, where he was a founding member of KPMG’s London-based lower-mid-market private equity team. He is a Chartered Accountant and received a first-class degree in Pharmacology from the University of Edinburgh.

Edward’s appointment further enhances Equistone’s deal origination and execution capabilities across its six European offices, following the recent appointments of Moritz Treude as an Associate in Munich and Sebastien Leusch as an Investment Director in Manchester. In the past 12 months, the established local presence of Equistone’s growing investment team in Europe's three largest economies has been reflected in the firm’s strong deal flow, comprising seven acquisitions – including Willerby, Inspired Thinking Group and BFT Mastclimbing in the UK market – and 17 bolt-on transactions to its portfolio companies.

Rob Myers, Senior Partner and UK Head at Equistone, said: “Edward’s strong technical background, combined with his practical experience of executing buyouts as an investor, makes him a valuable addition to the Equistone investment team. Our track record and well-established UK franchise continues to underpin the effective deployment of capital in a competitive market. We remain focused on developing the Equistone team to ensure that we are positioned to continue delivering attractive returns to our investors, with the recent additions to the UK deal team reinforcing this approach.”

Edward Baker, Investment Manager at Equistone, said: “Equistone is a leading player in the European mid-market with an established reputation for deliverability and a truly interesting and diverse portfolio, both in the UK and across Europe. It’s fantastic to be joining the team and I look forward to playing my part in the expansion of Equistone’s UK portfolio.”