Sandown Capital is a fund manager focused on high growth opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa.
We seek to invest in platforms with ‘public-to-private’ companies as cornerstone investments with a capital injection strategy focused on three verticals: Consumer, Financial Services and Clean Energy Industrials. Sandown’s management and its network of partners and international advisors represent a best-in-class team to originate, execute and exit sub-Saharan African investments targeting a minimum 20% net Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Sandown’s combination of public and private market expertise, hands-on experience across its verticals and an extensive sub-Saharan African network all contribute to a unique combination of skills.
Organisation Structure, Strategic Partnerships & Investment Opportunity
Investment Focus
Sandown’s immediate focus is to acquire controlling interests in mid-cap companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, each with significant and growing exposures across Sub Saharan Africa, trading at deep discounts to their intrinsic values. Once control has been established, Sandown will deploy additional capital across each vertical to unlock growth opportunities, extract synergies and drive value-creation.
Our unique investment screening process comprises narrow but deep dives into the most promising investment opportunities using advanced analytics. To mitigate risk, we exclude all companies which have historically been linked to poor levels of corporate governance. We also bring to bear a proprietary impact investing approach, built into our DNA, to deliver sustainable long-term returns and a commitment to developing the circular economy resulting in higher levels of job creation and economic inclusiveness.
The dislocation of public markets, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in many exceptional and immediate ‘take-private’ investment opportunities. In particular, while large caps listed on the JSE have broadly recovered all lost ground since the market correction of May 2020, the vast majority of mid-caps have underperformed the broader recovery, in many cases by up to 80% (source: Bloomberg & Sandown Capital Research). Our fundamental analysis has quantified and qualified the best ‘public-toprivate’ opportunities which we have crystallized into a pipeline 4 opportunities in each of our 3 investment verticals. In this regard, Sandown’s strategic partnership with Peresec, South Africa’s leading stockbroker, provides its Investment Committee (IC) with invaluable sources of insight and access to best-in-class equity trading, execution, legal and brokerage services to build the portfolio eff iciently. Our hybrid model of investing in capital-starved but well governed growth-orientated companies supplemented by the injection of fresh capital, and our hands-on management expertise represents a unique opportunity for investors to diversify risk and drive superior portfolio alpha.
The most recent Riscura SA survey of PE funds stated that the average 10-year annual IRR of the South African PE market in local currency was 22% versus the JSE’s 17%, net of costs and fees.
Capital Raise
Sandown intends to approach a number of selected investors to attract capital into its Guernsey fund, up to a maximum size of US$300m, with a minimum commitment of US$10m, and a forecast first close during 1H2024. Copies of the Sandown Capital Private Placement Memorandum, LPA and Subscription Agreement are available upon request.
Benefits For Capital Allocators
Team: Highly experienced PE Investment team with extensive African expertise.
Partnership: Unique strategic partnerships with Peresec and pan-African advisors.
Immediate Pipeline: 12 outstanding ‘take-private’ opportunities supplemented by the injection of additional growth capital.
Market Timing: JSE listed mid-caps trading at deep discounts to intrinsic and book values.
Fund Structure: Transparent Guernsey registered legal entities and bank accounts
Data Room: PPM, LPA, Subscription Agreement, and supplementary due diligence questionnaire.
Bespoke Investor Reports: Incorporating impact investment assessments.
“Price is what you pay. Value Is what you get”
Warren Buffet