Capital Constellation, Pollen Street Announce Strategic Partnership

Capital Constellation is acquiring a minority ownership stake in Pollen Street Capital, a European investment platform focused on the financial and business services sectors.

NEW YORK, April 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Constellation ("Constellation"), a provider of catalytic investment capital to investor entrepreneurs, today announced the closing of a strategic partnership with Pollen Street Capital ("Pollen Street"), an independent asset manager focused on the financial and business services sectors in the United Kingdom and Europe with approximately £2.8bn in gross AUM.  Constellation has acquired a minority ownership interest in Pollen Street and will provide significant investment capital to support the continued growth of Pollen Street's private equity and credit businesses.

"We are thrilled to announce this exciting partnership between Constellation and Pollen Street," said Lindsey McMurray, Managing Partner of Pollen Street. "We believe that we have built a differentiated franchise and team with a deep understanding of our focus industries. The partnership with Constellation endorses the value of strong industry specialization in this complex environment."

"We believe Pollen Street's deep expertise within financial services and experience investing across economic cycles uniquely positions them in today's environment," said Russell Valdez, Chief Investment Officer of Wafra and a Founding Board Member at Constellation. "We're excited to partner with Pollen Street as they have demonstrated clear industry leadership and a differentiated investment strategy in both private equity and credit investments." The partnership with Pollen Street reflects Constellation's strategy of providing growth and investment capital for investor entrepreneurs and accelerating business development by promoting peer-to-peer collaboration among leading institutional investors and investment managers.

About Pollen Street
Pollen Street is an independent alternative asset investment management company focused on the financial and business services sectors across both private equity and credit strategies. The private equity strategy is focused on investing in lower middle market firms which have the capacity to become leaders in their field across Europe. Pollen Street have deployed over £1.2bn capital into this strategy over the last 14 years delivering strong returns throughout.  It was established in 2013 and manages £2.8bn gross AUM on behalf of investors including leading pension funds, asset managers, banks and family offices from around the world.  Pollen Street Capital has a team of 70+ professionals with offices in London and New York.

About Capital Constellation
Constellation unites the expertise and capital base of premier institutional investors around the world with next-generation alternative asset managers. By providing strategic and financial support alongside a substantial, stable capital base, Constellation seeks to catalyze investor entrepreneurs and generate consistent, long-term returns for its members, who include the Alaska Permanent Fund ("APFC"), RPMI Railpen, the Kuwait Investment Authority ("KIA"), the Third Swedish National Pension Fund ("AP3"), and the Public Institution for Social Security of Kuwait ("PIFSS"). Constellation has partnered with six managers since its inception across North America and Europe and a range of asset classes and strategies spanning technology, renewable energy, communications, as well as real estate credit and private credit. Constellation is managed by Wafra, a leading private equity and alternative investment manager.  For more information please visit www.capitalconstellation.com

About Wafra
Wafra and its affiliates invest across a wide range of alternative assets, from private equity and venture capital to real assets and infrastructure. Wafra aims to partner with best-in-class management teams across those sectors in providing flexible and accretive capital solutions, with a focus on forming long-term partnerships.  Wafra's investment strategies are supported by professionals headquartered in New York. Wafra and its affiliates manage assets and commitments of approximately $25 billion. For more information please visit www.wafra.com

Media Contacts

For Pollen Street:
Ed Gascoigne-Pees
Camarco
+44 7884 001949
Ed.gasgoigne-pees@camarco.co.uk

For Wafra & Capital Constellation:
Nick Burns
Edelman 
+1 (917) 344-4771
Nick.burns@edelman.com