Nick Dignam from Fortitude Investment Partners goes in-depth with Lachlan Maddock from The Inside Network on unlocking Australia’s mid-market private equity trends in 2025.
Digitisation and efficiency in tailored financial services
Fortitude adds to leadership team
Fortitude Investment Partners has appointed a former Pinnacle Investment Management executive to the newly created role of chief commercial officer.
In the new role, Chris Brookman is tasked with strengthening commercial relationships, distribution and capital-raising efforts.
He joins from Tidal Ventures, the early-stage venture capital fund where he moved one month after leaving Pinnacle last year.
Brookman has been in funds management for 20 years holding senior roles at Pinnacle, Altive and Macquarie, where he spent over a decade leading the strategic accounts function of their asset management businesses.
Portfolio Update
Portfolio Update
We are delighted to share that Active Adventures, a New Zealand-based leader in tourism and adventure travel, has successfully acquired Discovery Bicycle Tours in the United States. This marks another significant step in Active Adventures' expansion in the US, following the acquisition of Austin Adventures in 2021.
Discovery Bicycle Tours, founded in 1977 and headquartered in Woodstock, Vermont, offers over 100 guided trips annually across destinations in America, Europe, Chile, New Zealand, and Vietnam. With this acquisition, Active Adventures, recognised as New Zealand’s most globally diverse adventure travel company, continues its 25-year legacy of delivering exceptional, fully guided outdoor experiences to adventurers worldwide.
Energy transition thematic delivering niche opportunities for investors: Fortitude
"There are a range of different ways to invest in the energy transition thematic," Fortitude explains, adding that the opportunities on the periphery often present the greatest value.
As Australia moves away from legacy fuels like coal and gas, and towards to more sustainable sources such as wind and solar, clear investment opportunities in large infrastructure and energy generation industries are emerging.
But it is outside of these opportunities, in the companies on the edge of the great energy transition, where the real intersection of value and growth potential lies according to Fortitude Investment Partners. While the big thematics will drive the primary sectors, Fortitude believes the companies that will be depended on to fuel and support these growing industries are the ones that can not only flourish, but but do so at an attractive entry point for the right investor.
And Fortitude is not just any investor. The team, run by founders Nick Dignam and Nick Miller, specialises in taking significant stakes (anything from around 40 per cent to 100 per cent) in Antipodean companies that have an enterprise value of between $10 million and $80 million. They then leverage a network of industry experts to help profitably scale the business to a point where its value makes it a feasible investment target for a larger lender or buyer.
Energy Transition - An Investment Thesis
"There are a range of different ways to invest in the energy transition thematic," Fortitude explains, adding that the opportunities on the periphery often present the greatest value.
As Australia moves away from legacy fuels like coal and gas, and towards to more sustainable sources such as wind and solar, clear investment opportunities in large infrastructure and energy generation industries are emerging.
But it is outside of these opportunities, in the companies on the edge of the great energy transition, where the real intersection of value and growth potential lies according to Fortitude Investment Partners. While the big thematics will drive the primary sectors, Fortitude believes the companies that will be depended on to fuel and support these growing industries are the ones that can not only flourish, but but do so at an attractive entry point for the right investor.
And Fortitude is not just any investor. The team, run by founders Nick Dignam and Nick Miller, specialises in taking significant stakes (anything from around 40 per cent to 100 per cent) in Antipodean companies that have an enterprise value of between $10 million and $80 million. They then leverage a network of industry experts to help profitably scale the business to a point where its value makes it a feasible investment target for a larger lender or buyer.
The subtle art of stacking the deck: Fortitude Investment Partners
Getting a good business in a good market with good people is just the start for this highly connected Brisbane funds management team. The next step involves a network of specialist operating partners that know how to scale.
There are private equity businesses that bank on knowing what companies to buy and when, and then there are PE purveyors that double down on this acuity by also bringing a bit of knowledge and experience to the table.
For Fortitude Investment Partners, building the business up to $250 million in funds under management has been a testament to both these planks of expertise.
But what’s really charging the Brisbane firm’s success, according to partner and co-founder Nick Miller, is a third driver – the ability to lean on a tight-knit network of industry experts that specialise in the handful of sectors and geographies Fortitude invests in. According to Miller, it’s this network that has seen Fortitude make a number of highly successful company exits in recent times.
The Booming Market For Personalised Medicine
Personalised medicine represents a significant evolution in healthcare. This approach customizes medical treatment based on individual genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors, offering a departure from the traditional one-size-fits-all model. By tailoring care to the unique characteristics of each patient, personalised medicine aims to improve treatment outcomes, reduce side effects, and enhance overall health.
Investing in Digital Marketplaces
The digitisation of the economy is a key investment thematic for Fortitude. We have a sector team of three dedicated to originating new opportunities in this space, and a track record of investing in behind businesses that are either technology focused, or are using technology to build a stronger businesses.
Digital Marketplaces fit within this thematic, and is a subsegment we like... a lot having recently invested in Aged Care Decisions. Read on to understand why.
