Hollyport collects $1bn for tail-end secondaries – exclusive

Hollyport Capital has held the final close on its latest secondaries fund after less than one year in market.

The London-headquartered tail-end specialist has hit the $1 billion hard-cap for Hollyport Secondary Opportunities Fund VII, a spokesman for the firm told Secondaries Investor. This is double the amount raised for 2017-vintage Fund VI, which closed on its hard-cap in 2017, as Secondaries Investor reported.

Secondaries Investor had reported in February that Hollyport was back in market targeting $750 million for Fund VII.

Fund VII launched in January last year and held a first close at the end of the first quarter and final close on 31 December. The fund is already 25 percent invested, having made its first investment at the end of June. It has a two-year investment period.

The investor base for Fund VII is more institutional in make-up than previous funds and counts on new limited partners from Asia, the Middle East and the US. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Fund was mulling a $75 million commitment to the fund, with a final decision expected at its January 2020 investment advisory committee meeting, a contact at the pension confirmed to Secondaries Investor.

Fund VII continues with the strategy of acquiring mature portfolios of private funds stakes, the average age being 14 years. GP-led deals will account for 15-20 percent of Fund VII’s investments, in line with previous funds.

Hollyport has roughly doubled, or more than doubled, the size of its funds since it raised its debut £6 million ($7.9 million; €7 million), 2007-vintage vehicle. In September 2018 it opened a New York office, Secondaries Investor reported.

Hollyport Secondary Opportunities Fund VII is the first secondaries fund of 2020 to hold a final close. Secondaries funds holding a final close in 2019 raised $35.16 billion, down on $48.24 billion the year before, according to Secondaries Investor data.