PEI names secondaries pioneer private equity leader

Jeremy Coller, founder and chief executive of secondaries giant Coller Capital, was yesterday awarded PEI’s second annual Private Equity Leader award in recognition of his role in shaping the nascent secondaries market.

Coller, who manages one of the largest secondaries fund ever closed, said it was a “sign of the times” that a secondaries player should be recognised as 2009’s leader.

The PEI Awards: guests take in the spectacular surroundings of the Victoria and Albert Museum

With liquidity a struggle for many institutions around the world, sales of private equity portfolios and fund interests are widely expected to rise dramatically. Coller’s $4.5 billion fifth fund – the world's largest when it closed in 2007 – is one of a growing number of capital pools poised to take advantage of opportunities.

Coller International Partners V is currently around 55 percent deployed having most recently taken a 20 percent stake in SVG Capital, the London-listed fund of funds. Coller is understood to be planning its next fundraise this year, targeting $6 billion.

Last year PEI’s inaugural Private Equity Leader Award was received by Sir Ronald Cohen, the founder of Apax Partners, who currently heads his socially-driven fund management firm Bridges Ventures.

Jeremy Coller

The 2009 award was presented to Coller yesterday at a black-tie dinner in celebration of Private Equity International’s Global Award Winners in the spectacular surroundings of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The event also saw the first and final close for PEI Charity Partners II, a charity “vehicle” that garnered commitments of more than £40,000 (€45,000; $64,000) from guests. The money raised will go to global children’s welfare organisation Unicef and Sparkles, a UK charity focused on the speech and language needs of children with Downs syndrome.