Glendower closes on $5.8bn enlarged hard-cap for latest secondaries fund

Glendower Capital, the fourth-largest UK-headquartered secondaries firm according to the SI 50, has closed its latest flagship on $5.8 billion.

The CVC Capital Partners-owned firm had secured more than $5 billion for Glendower Capital Secondary Opportunities Fund V in February, surpassing its initial $4.5 billion hard-cap and $3.5 billion target, Secondaries Investor reported at the time.

The initial hard-cap had been increased since the firm began fundraising for Fund V, Secondaries Investor reported at the time.

Fund V, which is the first vehicle closed since CVC acquired Glendower, is significantly larger than its predecessor, which closed on $2.7 billion in 2019. It has been backed by more than 230 returning and new limited partners, according to a statement about the fund’s close. It launched in 2020, according to Secondaries Investor data.

The fundraise is a “significant milestone” for Glendower, chief executive Carlo Pirzio-Biroli said in the statement, adding that the opportunity for its investment strategy “has never been greater and we look forward to deploying this capital into a highly attractive secondary market environment”.

News of the fund close follows CVC’s record breaking raise for buyout fund CVC Capital Partners IX, which secured €26 billion, affiliate title Private Equity International reported (registration required).

Capital raised in final closes for secondaries strategies across all asset classes between January and June rose to $37.2 billion, according to Secondaries Investor data. This marks a 29 percent jump on the same period last year and is roughly in line with the amount raised in H1 2021.

Capital is going into fewer hands, with 16 vehicles taking all the capital in the first half of the year. In the entirety of 2022, a total of 61 funds held final close, and 86 were closed in the year prior.