YFM Equity Partners appoints Nick Holt as portfolio director

In a bid to expand their portfolio team, UK-based private equity firm YFM has appointed Nick Holt from GEMS Education. 

With offices based in Reading, London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, YFM are looking to expand throughout regions in the UK. 

In 2021, the equity firm strengthened its presence through the opening of a new and permanent office in Reading in order to be closer and build stronger relationships with businesses in the area. 

Nick Holt will aid the company in their expansion endeavors; managing his Thames Valley portfolio team, supporting management in investee companies, and other areas within the business. 

Holt has 13 years of experience with private equity and working in a whole range of sectors including restaurants, pubs, software, healthcare, education, IT services and fintech. In addition to this, Holt was formerly an operations director at the International educations company GEMS Education, Holt was responsible for corporate development and operations across Europe. 

YFM has had many past dealings with companies in the South West region of the UK; in 2020, they invested £7 million in GHG Solutions Ltd to support their primary buyout. Later on in 2021, they invested £4 million in Bournemouth-based visual effects company Outpost VFX. 

In a recent YFM press release, Holt said: “Having worked with some of the members of the YFM team previously, I am genuinely excited to be joining a dynamic team who form strong relationships with the management teams they support.”

YFM’s head of portfolio, David Bell, has more than three decades worth of experience in private equity. He commented: “As we celebrate 40 years of supporting fast-growing businesses across the UK, we are continuing to build our team with experts like Nick who have the experience to partner with our 44 portfolio businesses and support their management teams to succeed.”