17Capital investment director departs firm – exclusive

A 17Capital investment director and former Secondaries Investor Young Gun has left the preferred equity specialist.

Vjerana Spajic’s last day at the London-headquartered firm was last week, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Spajic joined 17Capital in 2015 and was responsible for European investment origination and execution, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Spajic’s next move is unclear and Secondaries Investor understands she is still officially employed by the firm.

Spajic ranked seventh in the Young Guns of Secondaries list of most impressive industry professionals under 36 last year. She was described by one buyer as the “horsepower” behind a 2013 deal with UniCredit. Prior to joining 17Capital, she spent more than three years with AlpInvest Partners in Amsterdam.

Founded in 2008, 17Capital provides short- to medium-term financing to investors in private equity portfolios with the aim of allowing both GPs and LPs to raise capital or reduce their exposure without selling to the secondaries market or using debt.

In September, the firm hired Tom Doyle as a fund finance partner from JPMorgan to join its investment team. Doyle’s appointment followed that of Pierre Garnier as vice-president, as Secondaries Investor reported in June. Garnier, who joined from Lazard’s secondaries advisory team, was also listed in Secondaries Investor‘s Young Guns of Secondaries Class of 2017.

The firm held the final close on its fourth preferred equity fund in May last year on €1.2 billion, beating its €800 million target.

17Capital declined to comment.