FTV Capital Expands Internationally with Opening of London Office
As part of the expansion, Richard Earnshaw joins as partner to lead new office and FTV's European investing efforts alongside growing team
FTV Capital, a prominent sector-focused growth equity investment firm with a successful 25+-year track record of investing in financial and enterprise technology, today announced the opening of its London office to serve as the firm's hub for UK and European investments. FTV also announced Richard Earnshaw has joined the firm as partner to lead and grow the London-based team while deepening the firm's investing efforts throughout Europe. Located in Mayfair, FTV's London office joins the firm's existing offices in New York, San Francisco and Connecticut, representing its first office outside of the United States.
Building on two and a half decades of experience and the firm's strong investment track record in the region, FTV's European team will work on deals in collaboration with FTV's U.S. offices and strengthen its robust pipeline of European investment opportunities. FTV's current portfolio of European-based companies includes Liberis, ManyPets, Paddle, PeopleCert, True Potential and VikingCloud. Notable exits include Centaur (acquired by Waystone Group in 2022), Egress (signed to be acquired by KnowBe4 in 2024) and WorldFirst (acquired by Ant Financial in 2019).
"We've enjoyed a successful history of investing in Europe for many years, supported by our Global Partner Network in the region, and establishing our on-the-ground presence in London is a significant milestone in our growth as we seek to partner with the best entrepreneurs globally," said Brad Bernstein, managing partner at FTV Capital. "Europe is a promising breeding ground for technology innovation, and we're excited to bring our flexible growth capital, value-creation resources and vast commercial network to more entrepreneurs to help them scale their businesses to new heights. I'm thrilled to welcome Richard, who we've known and respected for a long time, and to work alongside him and our fantastic growing team in London to accelerate FTV's success."
With 13 years of experience investing in financial services technology, Earnshaw brings extensive domain expertise in financial software and data to FTV. He joins the firm from Hg, one of Europe's leading technology-focused private equity firms, with experience investing across Europe and North America. Earnshaw began his career at Deloitte Consulting where he worked on a range of strategy and M&A advisory projects.
"I'm excited to join FTV where we're not only investing in innovative companies led by great teams to help fuel their growth but also working collectively to transform industries and build the future of technology in Europe," said Earnshaw, partner at FTV Capital and head of the London office. "FTV's unique DNA in financial and enterprise technology, combined with its collaborative culture and deep commitment to supporting founders and management teams, makes a material difference for the companies in which it invests. I can't wait to work alongside the talented and ambitious team at FTV to leverage our sector specialisation, extensive reach into the global financial services and broader enterprise technology ecosystems, and our world-class operational capabilities to help build the next generation of European technology leaders."
By having investment team members on the ground in Europe, FTV will further deepen its network of European founders, as well as Global Partner Network® executives and investors, which will serve all aspects of FTV's model. With the London office and Earnshaw's hire, FTV now comprises nearly 100 professionals, including 14 partners.
"FTV was a true partner in helping Egress scale throughout our entire six-year relationship leading to Egress' successful signing to be acquired by KnowBe4," said Tony Pepper, CEO and co-founder of Egress, a London-based cybersecurity company. "No growth journey is ever straightforward, often with numerous twists and turns along the way, and it's these moments which truly test the strength and depth of any relationship. For tech entrepreneurs looking to accelerate growth and break into new markets, FTV is an exceptional partner."
This announcement comes on the heels of FTV receiving a series of major recognitions in recent months. In May 2024, FTV was recognized by the HEC Paris School of Business in the 2023 HEC Paris-Dow Jones Growth Capital Performance Ranking as the No. 6 top-performing growth equity firm globally out of 106 firms. The ranking evaluates growth capital firms' ability to generate returns for their investors with funds raised between 2010 and 2019. FTV has also been named an Inc. Founder Friendly firm for three consecutive years.
About FTV Capital
FTV Capital is a sector-focused growth equity investment firm that has raised $6.2 billion to invest in high-growth companies offering a range of innovative solutions in enterprise technology and services and financial technology and services. FTV's experienced team leverages its domain expertise and proven track record in each of these sectors to help motivated management teams accelerate growth. FTV also provides companies with access to its Global Partner Network®, a group of the world's leading enterprises and executives who have helped FTV portfolio companies for two decades. Founded in 1998, FTV Capital has invested in over 140 portfolio companies, including Agiloft, EBANX, Kore.ai, Lean Solutions Group, Luma, Patra and Vagaro, and successfully exited/partially exited companies including Enfusion (NYSE:ENFN), Globant (NYSE:GLOB), InvestCloud (recapitalized), RapidRatings (recapitalized), Strata Fund Solutions (acquired by Alter Domus), Tango Card (acquired by Blackhawk Network) and VPay (acquired by Optum). FTV has offices in New York, San Francisco, Connecticut and London. For more information, please visit www.ftvcapital.com and follow the firm on LinkedIn.
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