Growth equity investment firm FTV Capital has opened an office in London to serve as the firm’s hub for UK and European investments.
Richard Earnshaw has joined the firm as partner to lead and grow the London-based team while deepening the firm’s investing efforts throughout Europe.
Located in Mayfair, FTV’s London office joins the firm’s existing offices in New York, San Francisco and Connecticut, representing its first office outside of the United States.
Building on two and a half decades of experience and the firm’s strong investment track record in the region, FTV’s European team will work on deals in collaboration with FTV’s US offices and seek to strengthen its pipeline of European investment opportunities.
FTV’s current portfolio of European-based companies includes Liberis, ManyPets, Paddle, PeopleCert, True Potential and VikingCloud. Notable exits include Centaur (acquired by Waystone Group in 2022), Egress (signed to be acquired by KnowBe4 in 2024) and WorldFirst (acquired by Ant Financial in 2019).
“We’ve enjoyed a successful history of investing in Europe for many years, supported by our global partner network in the region, and establishing our on-the-ground presence in London is a significant milestone in our growth as we seek to partner with the best entrepreneurs globally,” said Brad Bernstein, managing partner at FTV Capital.
“Europe is a promising breeding ground for technology innovation, and we’re excited to bring our flexible growth capital, value-creation resources and vast commercial network to more entrepreneurs to help them scale their businesses to new heights.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Richard, who we’ve known and respected for a long time, and to work alongside him and our fantastic growing team in London to accelerate FTV’s success.”
With 13 years of experience investing in financial services technology, Earnshaw brings extensive domain expertise in financial software and data to FTV. He joins the firm from Hg, one of Europe’s leading technology-focused private equity firms, with experience investing across Europe and North America. Earnshaw began his career at Deloitte Consulting where he worked on a range of strategy and M&A advisory projects.
“I’m excited to join FTV where we’re not only investing in innovative companies led by great teams to help fuel their growth but also working collectively to transform industries and build the future of technology in Europe,” said Earnshaw.
“FTV’s unique DNA in financial and enterprise technology, combined with its collaborative culture and deep commitment to supporting founders and management teams, makes a material difference for the companies in which it invests.
“I can’t wait to work alongside the talented and ambitious team at FTV to leverage our sector specialisation, extensive reach into the global financial services and broader enterprise technology ecosystems, and our world-class operational capabilities to help build the next generation of European technology leaders.”