PE Deals

Genstar-backed Apex to add UK venture fund administrator Mainspring

The Mainspring deal will add £9.7bn of assets under administration to Apex Group.

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  • Apex is now servicing almost $3tr of assets
  • The Mainspring assets consist of £3.7bn in its investment platform and £6bn of venture capital fund administration
  • Mainspring provides outsourced administration and accounting services to small and medium-sized venture fund managers in the UK

Genstar-backed Apex Group has announced that it has bought Mainspring, a London-based provider of venture capital fund administration and accounting services.

Mainspring provides outsourced administration and accounting services to small and medium-sized venture fund managers in the UK. Apex’s purchase of Mainspring adds an additional £9.7 billion ($11 billion; €11 billion) of assets under administration to Apex Group. That consists of £3.7 billion in Mainspring’s investment platform and £6 billion of venture capital fund administration.

“The strategic acquisition of Mainspring adds depth to our service offering for UK venture capital funds, as well as strengthening our existing custody offering for private assets,” said Peter Hughes, founder and CEO of Apex Group. “As private equity and venture capital continue to become more accessible to a wider pool of investors, including wealth management clients, we are continuously evolving our single-source solution to offer the administration, custody and reporting services in order to be the best possible partner for our clients.”

The deal follows Apex’s close of its Sanne purchase in August as covered by PE Hub Europe, a global provider of alternative asset and corporate services. The Apex Group now services almost $3 trillion of assets. The deal will see Mainspring benefit from Apex Group’s services including digital banking and ESG ratings and advisory.

Apex Group is a Hamilton, Bermuda-headquartered global financial services provider with over 80 offices in 40 countries worldwide and more than 10,000 employees.

Genstar Capital is headquartered in San Francisco and has approximately $35 billion in assets under management. It has been investing in businesses for over 30 years. Its investment focus is on financial services, industrials, healthcare and software.