Private Markets
Milford Asset Management has always been intensely interested in private markets because of their potential to deliver strong long-term returns for clients.
Milford employs an active management approach in Private Markets investments, partnering with strong founders and executive teams to target attractive risk-adjusted returns with a long-term investment horizon.
Milford’s Private Markets track record include numerous investments made within the Milford Active Growth Fund since 2011, which have contributed positively to Fund performance over that time. In 2016, Milford launched the dedicated Private Markets Fund, Milford Private Equity Fund II (MPEII) with a total of NZ$150M of capital commitments from Limited Partners and the Milford Active Growth Fund. Following the success of MPEII, Milford launched Milford Private Equity Fund III (MPEIII) in 2021, which was oversubscribed and capped at a hard close of NZ$192.5M of investor commitments.
MPEII and MPEIII employ a total-return focus with active portfolio management, and target private companies with significant growth potential. The Funds may also invest in turnaround opportunities and provide an attractive succession route for founders.
Milford believes there are significant opportunities available for Private Markets to deliver strong returns for investors over time. We note however that these products are 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 and Fund III are closed to new investment.
Private Markets Team

Martin Cox
Head of Private Markets
Investment Director

Brooke Bone
Investment Director

John Johnston
Investment Director
Private Markets Investment Committee
The Private Equity Investment Committee is comprised of:
Collectively, they have over 100 years of investment knowledge between them. Over half this experience has been focused on investing in New Zealand private and public markets, with the remainder gained in offshore markets.
Current Investments











Equipment Leasing & Finance (EL&F)
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).


The New Shoots Group
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
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
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
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 educational 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.
As of December 2020, Cluey is now publicly listed on the ASX. Milford Private Equity Fund II retains a minority stake in Cluey following the IPO.


Comvita
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 the rest of Asia, in particular, and commands a substantial price premium over other brands.


Academy Xi
Academy Xi is a provider of very high quality, contemporary training programs in the key digital skills areas that are relevant to modern businesses. Academy Xi offers both early career and mid-career intensive training courses in digital marketing, software engineering, data science, user experience, and customer experience (amongst others).
These capabilities have become crucial in many businesses as economies digitise rapidly, and businesses are finding it extremely difficult to find suitably skilled talent.


Southern Honeycrisp New Zealand
Southern Honeycrisp New Zealand (formerly MA Orchards) comprises five mature organic apple orchards in the Timaru region, planted with the premium Honeycrisp varietal. Honeycrisp is a well-established and highly popular apple variety in the USA, occupying a premium price point over the other varieties due to its desirable eating characteristics. The organic status of the orchards further increases this premium.
New Zealand is uniquely placed to supply the large USA market in its offseason, with basically no major ‘fresh’ competition. Milford has partnered with New Zealand’s leading organic horticulturalist, John Bostock, to oversee the operation and undertake the USA marketing of the fruit.


Real NZ
Real Group (branded Real NZ) is a leading tourism and experience operator in New Zealand.
Founded in Fiordland in the 1950’s by tourism and conservation pioneers Les and Olive Hutchins, the business offers tourism experiences from Stewart Island to Queenstown. These include the TSS Earnslaw steamship and Walter Peak High Country Farm, cruises on Milford and Doubtful Sound, the Te Anau Glow-worm Caves and the Rakiura Stewart Island Ferry and cruises. Real NZ also owns and operates the Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone ski fields near Wanaka.
Realised Investments


Other Private Investments (prior to MPEII)











Interested in investing in Private Markets?
Our Private Equity funds are long-term, illiquid investments.
Get in touch.