Private Equity
Milford Asset Management has always been intensely interested in private equity because of its potential to deliver strong long-term returns for clients.
Private Equity
The Milford Active Growth Fund has been successfully investing in private companies since 2011. These private company investments have contributed positively to the Active Growth Fund over that time.
Milford has built on our private company investment expertise by launching the Milford Private Equity Fund II.
The Fund has a focus on investing in private companies with high growth opportunities and strong management teams. The Fund may also invest in under appreciated subsidiaries of corporations, turnaround opportunities and provide a succession route for founders.
Milford believes there are significant opportunities available for the Private Equity Fund II to deliver strong returns for investors over time, but notes that the Fund is only suitable for wholesale or eligible investors with a higher risk appetite who are willing to forgo liquidity in the quest for potentially higher returns.
Please note that the Milford Private Equity Fund II is now closed to new investment.
The Private Equity Team
Brooke Bone
Investment Director
MoreBrooke Bone
Investment Director
Brooke is an Investment Director for Milford’s Funds and co-manages the Milford Private Equity Fund II. He is currently a director of a number of companies on behalf of the Milford Active Growth Fund. Brooke joined Milford in 2012 from Macquarie Securities in New Zealand where he was a Senior Research Analyst covering a variety of sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, mining and oil and gas. Prior to that, Brooke was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley in London, covering Pan-European retail companies. Brooke also worked for the corporate finance and property team of Marks and Spencer in the UK. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and is a CFA Charterholder.
John Johnston
Investment Director
MoreJohn Johnston
Investment Director
John is an Investment Director for Milford’s Funds and co-manages the Milford Private Equity Fund II. Prior to joining Milford in 2016, John spent four years at Fletcher Building, latterly managing the Firth Masonry, Dricon, and CSP Pacific businesses operating in the concrete and roading technology sectors. This followed stints in strategy and corporate finance at Fletcher Building and prior to that Air New Zealand. The first decade of John’s experience was in principal equity investment and investment banking for Societe Generale and Macquarie Bank (in Sydney and London) working across a range of industry sectors. John holds an LLB (Hons), BA and BCom from the University of Otago and an MBA from Oxford University.
Tom Monti
Investment Analyst
MoreTom Monti
Investment Analyst
Tom joined the Milford Private Equity team as an Investment Analyst in 2017 and is responsible for the assessment of opportunities, valuations, executing transactions and supporting the management teams of investee companies. Prior to this, Tom had been working in the investment banking team at UBS in Auckland, where he was involved in a number of significant capital markets and private transactions.
Tom holds a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Economics and Finance (with First Class Honours) from the University of Canterbury.
Private Equity Investment Committee
The Private Equity Investment Committee is comprised of:
- Brian Gaynor;
- Lester Gray;
- Jonathan Windust;
- Brooke Bone;
- John Johnston.
Collectively, they have over 100 years of investment knowledge between them. Over half this experience has been focussed on Investing in New Zealand private and public markets, with the remainder gained in offshore markets
Current Investments
Equipment Leasing & Finance (EL&F) provides asset management and finance of vehicles and capital equipment to New Zealand industry.
The group trades under the brands AB Equipment (materials handling, forestry and construction equipment sales and service), Speirs Finance (asset financing) and Yoogo (vehicle and equipment leasing).
Coretex operates in the growing telematics industry – providing operators in North America, New Zealand and Australia with the tools to maximise their assets, burn less fuel, avoid waste and boost safety.
It offers a single platform, proven over 16 years in the most demanding sectors possible: construction, refrigerated goods and waste collection.
The New Shoots Group comprises a portfolio of managed and owned childcare centres with a vision to providing the best learning and care outcomes for children, parents and teachers.
The Group also owns and operates Curiate, a distributor of early childhood resources to centres in New Zealand.
Smart Environmental is New Zealand’s largest privately-owned leader in waste, recycling and resource recovery solutions.
Smart Environmental has operated in New Zealand for over 25 years, with a commitment to diverting waste from landfill.
45 South is the largest grower and exporter of cherries in New Zealand, based in the town of Cromwell in Central Otago.
45 South owns and operates the area’s largest cherry packhouse, with state-of-the-art processing machinery; and provides orchard management, harvest, packing and exporting services both to its own orchards and to third party owned cherry orchards.
Cluey Learning is a provider of high quality online-enabled tutoring services to primary and secondary school children in Australia.
Since July 2018, Cluey has improved eduational outcomes for thousands of students through its user-friendly and educationally comprehensive platform that allows bespoke tutoring sessions to be conducted from the convenience of a student’s own home.
Comvita is the largest exporter of Manuka honey and bee products from New Zealand. The business has substantial supply operations throughout New Zealand and distribution channels worldwide.
Comvita is considered the ‘premium’ supplier of Manuka honey in China and Rest of Asia, in particular, and commands a substantial price premium over other brands.
Realised Investment
Steel & Tube is New Zealand’s largest steel distribution company with customers across the construction, manufacturing and rural sectors. It operates a nationwide network of branches.
Steel & Tube has been listed on the NZX since 1967.