ECI Partners

ECI Partners is a growth focused private equity group based in the UK and the US, first established by the Bank of England in 1976.

ECI typically invests up to £100m of equity (as part of an initial transaction) in businesses valued at up to £300m

It was a founder member of both the European Venture Capital Association (now "Invest Europe") and British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association in 1983 having organised its first management buyout (for Ansafone) in 1980. In the first decade of ECI's investment they were active across a range of investments including syndicated transactions; early investments included Williams Holdings – owner of Chubb and Kidde – founded by Nigel Rudd and Brian McGowan, and Shanks & McEwan.

From the start of the 1990s (ECI 4) the exclusive focus became UK mid-market buyouts investing in the likes of National Express and Bloomsbury Publishing.

The turn of the millennium saw ECI raise ECI 7 with leading growth investments including Thinkmoney and LateRooms.

In July 2018 ECI announced the first and final closing of its eleventh buyout fund, ECI 11. ECI launched the fundraise mid-April 2018 with a target fund size of £650m and closed at the hard cap of £700m less than three months later. ECI 11 was raised without using any placement agent support.

In September 2023 ECI announced the final close of its twelfth buyout fund, ECI 12, hitting its £1 billion hard cap, beating £900 million target.