Prospective Everton buyers back £160m software PE fund

The prospective buyers of Everton Football Club have backed a $200m (£157.7m) private equity fund investing in European software Companies.

The Friedkin Group (TFG), which also hold a portfolio of companies such as Italian football club AS Roma, has seeded a fund from new private equity firm Copilot Capital.

Aiming to back “the next generation of European software champions”, the fund plans to back companies generating between five to 15 million euros of annual recurring revenue, arguing that there is a gap for investment in lower mid-market software across the continent.

Private equity has seen a challenging fundraising environment in recent years, with an especially large shortfall in capital directed to the low mid-market, and the fund aims to fill that gap.

It will then guide the companies it invests in towards a path of 50 million euros in annual recurring revenue and beyond.

While the Everton deal has not been officially announced, TFG have been labelled as the likely buyers after the football club’s purchase by 777 Partners fell through.

Founded by John Messer, Charlie Daniel and Danny Friedkin, the latter of whom is principal of TFG International, Copilot Capital said it aimed to become the “investment firm of choice for software businesses looking to scale”.

The fund’s initial investment was made in the Danish frontline employee app Relesys, an all-in-one employee app for frontline workers in the retail industry, used by companies like Specsavers and Vue Cinemas.

Danny Friedkin said: “John’s focus on identifying overlooked potential aligns perfectly with The Friedkin Group’s approach. Our success has stemmed from making unique contributions to a founders’ growth journey, and finding value where others haven’t.

“We’ve backed many exceptional founders and management teams across a diverse range of industries. John and the Copilot Capital crew are the next chapter in that adventure.”

John Messer added: “There are 60,000 SaaS companies across Europe. Many of these maturing businesses don’t fit the profile of a typical VC or buyout fund and fall through the cracks, despite their obvious potential. Our goal is to identify businesses with market-leading products and proven revenue models and equip them with the capital and expertise to scale into software champions.”