Niche secondaries buyer Keyhaven plots market return

Niche secondaries specialist Keyhaven Capital Partners is preparing to return to market.

The London-based firm will begin marketing Keyhaven Secondaries Fund III in 2021, according to a source familiar with the matter. It will target more than €400 million, Secondaries Investor understands.

Secondaries Fund III was registered with UK Companies House in October.

Keyhaven’s last secondaries fund was the 2019-vintage Secondaries (Top Up) II, which raised more than €100 million, according to Secondaries Investor data. This followed the 2017-vintage Keyhaven Secondaries Fund II, which raised €250 million from investors including Swedish pension AP Fonden 4.

Last week, Keyhaven closed the sale of a minority stake in Pensions Insurance Corporation to a UK family office, according to a statement from the firm. It bought the stake in 2017 at a “significant discount” from shareholders looking for a quick sale and exited at 1.7x cost.

The name of the family office was not disclosed.

The PIC focuses on securing the liabilities of defined benefit pension schemes. Since 2017 it has grown assets under management to £48 billion ($64 billion; €53.5 billion) from £25.2 billion at the end of 2017, as well as raised £750 million in capital and rebalanced away to less volatile bonds and cash, the statement noted.

“Having sourced the deal through a longstanding relationship with the company’s founder, we were able to provide a swift and effective solution to existing shareholders while securing significant upside potential for ourselves,” said Keyhaven managing partner Sasha van de Water.

Keyhaven is a specialist secondaries private equity firm dedicated to European lower mid-market businesses. It has raised more than €2 billion since it was founded in 2003.