Allegro Private Equity wins AMRO mandate

Boutique fund manager Allegro Private Equity has become the new manager of the $300 million AMRO Capital Australia Fund II.

The manager was appointed after a vote of the fund’s six Australian institutional investors and replaces a team from AMRO.

Allegro comprises a team of corporate advisers from Quay Capital, which is led by Chester Moynihan and Adrian Loader.

Allegro will manage the portfolio of six companies in the fund — Monash IVF (specialist medical services), Babies Galore (retail), Discovery (tourism and leisure), CH2 (healthcare), Pure Logistics (transport) and Bluestone Mortgages (mortgage services).

Quay Capital joint managing director Chester Moynihan said Allegro won the appointment because of its background in looking after diverse portfolios.

“There was a natural fit between what the fund’s investors were looking for and what Allegro was offering,” he said.

Fellow joint managing director Adrian Loader said the manager’s ability to start working on the portfolio immediately was attractive to the institutional investors.

“Quay Capital was poised to establish a new mid-market private equity fund, so the timing was good for us and the fund’s investors,” he said.

“We see excellent potential to grow and unlock value from this portfolio.”

Moynihan said there was still $40 million of the fund to be invested and this will enable further investments and provide support for the existing companies in the portfolio.

“Our immediate focus will be to support the portfolio companies and ensure they are on track for sustainable growth and ultimately a successful exit from them,” he said.

“In time, we anticipate raising new funds and expanding the portfolio.”