Soho House ex-backer bets on millennials with new fund

[LONDON] Active Partners Investments, a former backer of private members' club Soho House, has raised £100 million pounds (S$176.7 million) for a new fund.

AP III is Active Partners' third money pool and will invest up to £20 million pounds in high-growth businesses aimed at social media-savvy millennials, said managing partner Spencer Skinner.

The London-based firm's other investments include interactive movie experience Secret Cinema.

"Today we see a real appetite for something new," said Mr Skinner. "We've only scratched the surface of what's to come. It's a truly exciting time."

Active Partners is betting on niche retail sectors as the wider industry struggles to compete against online shopping and changes in consumer spending patterns. The investment manager also backs London restaurant chains Leon and Honest Burgers, as well as craft-beer brewer Northern Monk.

The firm tapped existing investors including family offices for AP III, bringing Active's total assets under management to more than £250 million, Mr Skinner said.

Its first fund, which finished fund-raising in 2015, has so far returned almost triple the initial investment, while its second is yet to generate a profit, he said.

AP III has invested 15 per cent of its capital so far, said Mr Skinner, without naming the companies involved. The firm is looking at opportunities in the travel sector and the "experience economy".

BLOOMBERG