Equistone announces key appointment to Manchester team

Equistone Partners Europe (“Equistone”) has announced the appointment of Sebastien Leusch as Investment Director to its Manchester office as the firm continues to seek new investments from its €2bn Fund V.

Sebastien joins Equistone having previously worked at Montagu Private Equity, where he spent nine years developing a strong reputation for delivering transactions across a broad range of sectors in the North of England and Europe. Completed deals include the MBOs of Paris-based low fat and healthy spreads manufacturer, St Hubert, and Poland’s leading owner and operator of transmission towers, Emitel, at an enterprise value of €430m and €425m respectively.

This followed a seven-year spell with PwC, latterly as a Director in the Corporate Finance team, where Sebastien was responsible for a broad range of lead advisory assignments, including on acquisitions, disposals, and management buy-outs / buy-ins. 

At Equistone, Sebastien will work alongside Steve O’Hare, Senior Partner, and Andi Tomkinson, Investment Director, to identify new investments and support the firm’s existing northern portfolio, which includes Willerby, Apogee, Wealth at Work, Travel Counsellors, Concept Life Sciences, and Fircroft. These companies have combined revenues of over £1.6bn and around 4,000 employees.

Sebastien Leusch, Investment Director at Equistone, said: “It is an exciting time to be joining Equistone’s Manchester team. The firm has a diverse portfolio and has backed a number of high growth businesses in the North of England. I am looking forward to working alongside Steve, Andi and the wider UK team to identify new deals, as well as bolt on opportunities for the existing portfolio.”

Steve O’Hare, Senior Partner at Equistone, said: “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Seb to our Manchester team to support our investment efforts across the North of England. He has demonstrated an ability to identify and secure key investments and manage those companies through to exit. Seb is well known in the northern deal community and also has expertise across a range of sectors and geographies, which will add value to the team at Equistone.”