YFM appoints Steve Harrison

YFM Equity Partners (YFM) has today announced the appointment of Steve Harrison as Portfolio Director. Based in the Leeds office, Steve will be focused on actively managing YFM’s growth and buy-out investments as part of the portfolio team led by David Bell.

With over 19 years’ industry experience, Steve joins from Santander Corporate Bank, where he was a Director in Santander’s Growth Capital team for five years. There, he launched the bank’s £200m Growth Capital Fund across the North of England, was responsible for sourcing new investment opportunities, structuring bespoke funding packages and leading all aspects of the investment process. He also provided support, including performance monitoring and management to a large portfolio of SMEs.  Prior to Santander, Steve spent four years in private equity with turnaround fund, Endless LLP, and eight years in Corporate Finance with Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young.

Steve’s appointment follows YFM’s recent investment into 4net Technologies from its YFMEP 2016 fund, which closed in April this year at 50% above its initial target. This deal marked the fourth investment from the fund, with demand for investment in the SME market remaining strong across the UK.

David Hall, Managing Director of YFM said: “Steve boasts a wealth of experience in our industry, particularly working with SMEs, and is a welcome addition to the Leeds team as we continue to grow our portfolio. We are seeing an ever-increasing range of opportunities to invest in this market and look forward to replicating 2017’s success through the last quarter and into 2018.”

Steve Harrison added: “I am delighted to be joining YFM Equity Partners, at what is an exciting time for the firm following the successful launch of YFM’s latest buyout fund last year.  With its range of VCT and buy-out funds, supportive approach and impressive national network, YFM is ideally placed to assist SMEs realise their growth ambitions. I look forward to helping both the team and these businesses reach that potential.”