Denham in power shift to London

As it seeks to exploit opportunities in emerging markets, US-based private equity firm Denham Capital has shifted the headquarters of its power and renewables team to London.

The move is being spearheaded by Scott Mackin, Denham Capital vice president and managing partner as well as head of power and renewables. He is relocating to London to join director Jens Thomassen and vice president Juergen Heeg – who joined the firm late last year to bolster its London presence – as well as associate Steve Mandel.

A statement from the firm added that Justin DeAngelis, a director, will support the team from New York. Todd Bright, a managing director who joined two and a half years ago to lead the London office, is moving to Houston where he will be joined by Saurabh Anand, a vice president, and Peter Ramsumair, an associate.

“Power and renewables opportunities are far greater overseas today, particularly in emerging markets, than in the US,” said Mackin in the statement. “We believe that this trend will only continue, as nearly 80 percent of new generation capacity requirements during the next two decades are expected to come from developing economies.”

He added that moving the team to London meant being “more geographically aligned in our approach to pursuing deals globally” and would involve “close collaboration with our management teams in regions such as Africa, South America and Asia Pacific”.

Denham Capital’s fifth and sixth funds have backed the likes of: Rio Energy, a Brazilian company focused on the development and/or acquisition of greenfield wind projects; Endeavour Energy, a developer, owner and operator of thermal and hydro power generation facilities across Africa; and BioTherm Energy, a wind and solar developer in South Africa.

Focused on the energy sector, Denham Capital has funds of approximately $7.3 billion in invested and committed capital. It has offices in London, Boston, Houston, Sao Paolo and Perth, Australia.