Fundraising

Montagu loses second UK head

Montagu Private Equity, a UK mid market firm, is parting with its second UK head in just over a year as Nigel Hammond leaves to pursue other interests.

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Nigel Hammond, Montagu Private Equity’s head of UK and Nordic investment, is leaving the firm towards the end of the year, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The source said Hammond was to take a sabbatical, after which he was unlikely to return. He said: “Nigel will probably pursue other interests. He has worked in private equity for quite a long time and got to the top of a business. It’s understandable he wants a change. The split is entirely amicable and Montagu wishes him the best.”

Hammond: to pursue other interests

An investor in Montagu’s fund said he had been told of Hammond’s planned departure a few months ago.

Hammond is the firm’s second UK head to quit in as many years. Phil Goodwin left last year during the firm’s first fundraising since winning its independence from HSBC. Goodwin left to study theology.

Neither departure is believed to have triggered any key man clause, a contractual provision, which allows investors to cancel their fund commitments if one or more of the most important partners leave the firm.

Hammond joined Montagu in 1995 after spending five years with 3i. Between 2000 and 2005 he was responsible for the firm’s investment business outside the UK and became head of UK and Nordic investments on Goodwin’s departure.

Hammond worked on buyouts including Stabilus, a German automotive parts business, and Actaris, a metering systems company, which Montagu bought from LBO France in a secondary and eventually sold back to the French buyout firm.