Nick Miller

Fortitude Investment Partners (“Fortitude”) has made the first investment from its flagship Fortitude Fund, acquiring Richard Jay, Australia’s leading provider of professional laundry equipment, industrial laundry solutions and cleaning chemicals.

The Fortitude Fund completed its first close in December 2025, securing commitments from several institutional and family office investors across Australia and Asia. The firm is on track to complete a final close by mid 2026.

In addition, investors in Fortitude’s wealth strategy, the Fortitude Small Cap PE Fund, will gain exposure to Richard Jay through its allocation to the Fortitude Fund, broadening access to the transaction across the firm’s investor base.

The Richard Jay acquisition marks the Fortitude Team’s 20th investment in private businesses and continues the firm’s focus on backing resilient businesses.

The deal was led by Sam O’Connor, Partner at Fortitude. Nick Miller, Co-Founder of Fortitude and Mr O’Connor will join the company board.

Fortitude adopts a long term, partnership driven investment approach, targeting established lower mid-market businesses with resilient earnings, recurring revenue profiles and opportunities for operational and strategic growth.

Mr Miller said the transaction reflects the firm’s strategy of investing in essential service providers with strong recurring revenues and clear growth pathways.

“This is exactly the kind of stable, mission critical business services platform we like, one that offers strong customer outcomes with clear levers to grow. We like Richard Jay’s defensive exposure to essential sectors including hospitals, aged care, hospitality, government services such as prisons as well as accommodation, facilities management and food and beverage,” he said.

Founded in 1969 as a single laundromat in Adelaide, Richard Jay has grown into an internationally recognised provider of commercial laundry, chemicals and dispensing solutions. The family-owned company services customers across hospitality, healthcare, government, education, mining and community sectors, and operates through its core brands, Richard Jay, JayChem and Symbio.

“Richard Jay has built a trusted services platform over decades. We’re investing to scale that foundation and broadening its national coverage. We are backing the existing management team to continue delivering high quality service and product support to the industrial laundry and hygiene industries,” Mr O’Connor said.

“After more than 55 years of family ownership, we are pleased to announce the sale of our group of companies. The acquisition will bring additional expertise and investment, which together with the dedication and efforts of our team, the high-quality solutions we offer, and the strong foundations we have built over multiple generations, will ensure that the Richard Jay group is able to expand on its ability to assist our customers and our communities,” added Carolyn Kirk as spokesperson for Richard Jay.

The existing Richard Jay leadership team, Matthew Manterfield (CEO) and Ian Elliot (General Manager, Chemicals), will continue to lead the business and have partnered with Fortitude to assist in the further growth of the business.

CEO, Matthew Manterfield said “We are delighted to have an aligned partner like Fortitude alongside us as we pursue a dynamic growth plan across our key products and services. At this same time, we acknowledge the Richard Jay family and their support in building Richard Jay to become Australia’s only fully integrated, nationwide provider of commercial laundry and chemical solutions to essential services sectors.”

Richard Jay maintains a strong focus on ESG initiatives, including improving resource efficiency for customers through reduced energy and water usage, extending the useful life of linens, enhancing hygiene and infection control standards in sensitive environments such as hospitals and aged care facilities, and strengthening product and employee safety and compliance.

Talbot Sayer, GreenMount, BDO, Dealside, Cyber Partners and Willis Towers Watson advised Fortitude, and Monash Advisory, MYMAX and Clayton Utz advised Richard Jay.

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Nick Miller

Fortitude Investment Partners (“Fortitude”), a leading private markets investment manager, has launched the Fortitude Small Cap PE Fund, an evergreen fund targeting lower midmarket opportunities in the private equity space.

“We are excited to offer this new fund to the market. The Fortitude Small Cap PE Fund is designed to provide investors with flexible, diversified, access to a range of opportunities in fast-growing, profitable companies in Australia and New Zealand,” Nick Miller, Partner and Co-Founder at Fortitude, said.

The fund will also invest in targeted deal flows in selected sectors of health, digitalisation and technology, energy transition and food and beverage. It will offer quarterly applications and redemptions after a two-year establishment period.

“We have developed this fund to allow investors and advisers to build more sophisticated private equity portfolios and access the attractive lower mid-market sector in Australia and New Zealand,” Miller said.

This segment, which generally refers to private companies with an enterprise value (EV) under $200 million, has historically been the highest performing segment of private equity in Australian and New Zealand, according to Cambridge Associates.

The lower mid-market segment offers a broad range of opportunities, relatively limited competition for transactions, comparatively lower entry prices, and a variety of options for exit. There are more than 68,000 domestic companies in this segment positioned for potential growth and value-oriented exits according to Fortitude.

“We have a rich heritage of identifying high performing businesses, being exceptional growth partners and achieving profitable exits in this segment,” Miller said.

“We have been able to do this because we seek out companies with operating profitably which have also shown a clear competitive advantage, organic growth, and the potential for inorganic growth through mergers and acquisitions,” he added.

In the last several years, individual investors have increasingly embraced semi-liquid evergreen funds to access alternative investments. A shift can also be seen in the institutional market and with family offices. With no drawdown period, evergreen funds provide immediate access to a diversified portfolio and may have the ability to provide some liquidity in a traditionally illiquid asset class.

The Fortitude Small Cap PE fund is the first co-mingled fund from the investment manager, which has previously only invested in single company private equity deals.

“Given it’s higher return potential and differentiated exposure, the Fortitude Small Cap PE fund may work well as satellite allocation alongside more diversified global funds in the private equity space,” Chris Brookman, chief commercial officer at Fortitude said.

“The lower mid-market private equity segment is chronically underserved by the private equity industry, and with few managers specialising in this segment we believe our offer is unique and highly differentiated,” he added.

“Private markets have become a staple of large professionally managed portfolios and now individual investors may create those same allocations with less operational hassle, smaller investment minimums, and optimal diversification by using semi-liquid evergreen funds.”

The fund has a minimum investment of $100,000 and is available for both direct investment and on Hub24 and Netwealth platforms.

Fortitude is well regarded in the market for its strategic acquisitions. One of the defining achievement last year was the sale of Birch & Waite, a Fortitude portfolio company, to Quadrant. Earlier this year Fortitude deepened its footprint in the tech-enabled financial services sector, by acquiring a majority stake in ASF Audits, Australia’s largest independent self-managed super fund (SMSF) audit firm.

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Fortitude is an Australian private equity manager focused on the lower mid-market, where it sees significant opportunity to generate value through hands-on investment, strategic growth initiatives and operational improvements.

Tayla Stafford has joined as Investment Associate, bringing experience from Wilsons Advisory and Goldman Sachs, where she worked across sectors including technology, healthcare, utilities, transport and retail.

In investor services, Akyere Sobukwe-Whyte has been appointed as Investor Services Manager, drawing on more than 15 years in financial services with a track record in operations and client delivery, most recently with Allan Gray Investment Management.

Meanwhile, Aida Farahani has taken on the role of Fund Accountant, adding more than a decade of experience in accounting and private markets fund administration, including her most recent role at Apex Australia.

The firm also continues to run its internship program in partnership with the University of Queensland’s advanced finance program, positioning itself to attract and retain future investment talent. Looking ahead, Fortitude plans to continue building its team selectively, with a focus on organic growth within the investment function.

Nick Miller, Co-Founder and Partner at Fortitude, said the new hires strengthen Fortitude’s differentiated investment capabilities. “With the hire of Tayla into the investment team we are well positioned to continue executing on our strategy which includes our origination capability which remains the primary source of deal flow for our business. Given Tayla’s experience we are confident she will make a meaningful impact on our investment program,” he said.

He also highlighted the importance of bolstering client services and finance. “We are equally delighted to welcome Akyere to lead our investor services function, managing our suite of key service providers and galvanising our operational capability. As we build our in-house fund accounting capability, we are very pleased to welcome Aida to our Finance team.”

“These hires continue to build out Fortitude’s in-house capabilities as we prepare for the next stage of growth in our business,” Miller added. “We believe that private lower mid-market offers a rare balance of stability and value. Backed by a vast and under-crowded opportunity set, now is the time for investors to look beyond the obvious. The lower mid-market offers an expansive opportunity set, the ability to add value, expand multiples and ultimately find buyers.”

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Chris Brookman

Private equity investors are missing out on a reliable growth opportunity by overlooking a vast, undervalued corner of the market – Australia’s lower mid-market segment, according to Fortitude Investment Partners.

“With an abundant opportunity set, less competition for deals, lower entry prices, wide exit windows and the potential for higher exit prices, the lower mid-market private sector is booming with more than 68,000 domestic companies ready for scalable growth and value-driven exits,” notes Chris Brookman, chief commercial officer, Fortitude.

With further rate cuts on the horizon, potentially pushing more capital into riskier listed assets, Brookman says private lower mid-market offers a rare balance of stability and value. Backed by a vast and under-crowded opportunity set, he believes now is the time for investors to look beyond the obvious.

“Wholesale investors are probably already familiar with opportunities that offer exposure to mid and large-cap private companies. Investors may be less familiar with the lower mid-market, however and this is the segment of the market that Fortitude focusses on exclusively,” he added.

The lower mid-market includes companies with an enterprise value (EV) under $200m and would be considered ‘microcaps’ if listed on the ASX. (In fact, any listed company under $300m EV is typically considered a ‘microcap’.) Out of 2,059 companies listed on the ASX, about 1,470 fall into this category.

But in private markets the opportunity set is much larger. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are more than 68,000 private companies in the lower mid-market. This compares to an opportunity set in the mid-market (EVs between $200m and $500m) of 2,208 and the large cap market (EVs over $500m) of 1,725.

“Moreover, while many private equity firms begin their life in the lower mid-market, over time many will gravitate towards the mid-market and large-cap market as they raise more capital and will need to deploy into ever larger transactions. This means that competition for deals is fierce, as is the pressure to deploy.

“Ultimately this means that the ratio of 5-year transaction value to PE dry powder in the mid-market is 25:1 versus 218:1 in the lower mid-market,” Brookman says.

This imbalance delivers a clear pricing advantage. “At Fortitude we typically pay an average EBITDA discount of 30–50% versus the mid-market and large-cap market. As investee companies mature and move into the mid-market, the average price multiple will increase because of the increased competitions for deals at this tier of the market. This is called ‘multiple expansion’ and is one of the many levers that Fortitude uses to generate returns for investors,” Brookman says.

“Quality companies at this stage are also easier to scale. They have typically carved out a market niche which provides a meaningful pathway for expansion through both organic and inorganic growth. This means the potential to add value over time can be significant.

“And when the time comes to exit a company there is typically a broad range of buyers available. This might include other private equity firms, who focus on mid-market or large cap or it may be corporates, who typically have more discretion to make strategic acquisitions at the $200m – $500m range.”

Brookman says the case for the segment is clear. “The lower mid-market offers an expansive opportunity set, the ability to add value, expand multiples and ultimately find buyers.”

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Nick Miller

2024 was a milestone year for Fortitude Investments, a leading private markets investment manager, reflecting the firm’s disciplined investment approach and strategic focus on the lower mid-market sector of the economy.

“Our ability to deliver significant returns in a challenging environment speaks to the strength of our strategy,” said Nick Miller, Fortitude’s partner and co-founder. “The lower mid-market segment continues to present compelling opportunities for value creation, with its abundance of investable companies and wide exit windows.”

A defining achievement of 2024 was the sale of Birch & Waite, a Fortitude portfolio company, to Quadrant in May. This transaction generated an impressive return for investors, contributing to Fortitude’s overall portfolio gross IRR of over 30% and over 3x Multiple on invested capital, and total net capital returned to investors to $625 million.

“The Birch & Waite transaction underscores our commitment to delivering exceptional outcomes for our investors,” Miller said.

“Private equity investments allow us to take a hands-on approach, optimising operational performance and strategically positioning businesses for growth,” he added. “This adaptability and focus on tangible value creation provides investors with a reliable pathway to generate strong returns over time.”

As public markets face increased volatility, private equity remains an attractive asset class for investors seeking stable and predictable returns. The ability to control and actively manage investments provides a significant advantage over other passive strategies, particularly in an uncertain economic environment.

“We expect institutional and high-net-worth investors to favour capital allocation to private equity, drawn by its proven track record of resilience and growth across market cycles.”

Despite a difficult investment climate, Fortitude maintained a strong deal pipeline, advancing 326 opportunities to early due diligence and moving $75 million worth of deals into exclusivity.

“Our discipline in selecting only the highest-quality opportunities has been key to our success,” said Miller. “2024 reaffirmed the soundness of our approach and the resilience of the lower mid-market sector.”

The year also saw Fortitude strengthen its team with the appointment of Chris Brookman as Chief Commercial Officer. Brookman will oversee sales, marketing, investor relations and operations, positioning the firm for continued growth.

Looking to 2025, Fortitude plans to focus on its four core investment themes: Food and Beverage, Technology and Digitalisation, Healthcare and Infrastructure/Energy Transition.

“Our pipeline remains robust across these sectors, and we see exciting opportunities to continue driving value,” said Miller.

The lower mid-market’s unique dynamics, including a transaction value nearly three times that of the mid-market and a less competitive landscape, make it particularly attractive for Fortitude.

“This segment offers the ideal combination of abundant opportunities and attractive valuations,” Miller noted. “By applying active management, we can help portfolio companies grow into mid-market-sized organisations, unlocking multiple arbitrages along the way.”

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Joining Fortitude from Tidal Ventures, Brookman brings extensive experience of over 20 years in the funds management space. He has also worked in senior leadership roles at Pinnacle Investment Management, Altive and at Macquarie, where he spent over a decade leading the strategic accounts function of their asset management business.

“We are excited to welcome a seasoned professional like Christopher to our team. His appointment will no doubt enhance our distribution capabilities, allowing us to deepen intermediary relationships and drive fundraising efforts across Fortitude’s new investment opportunities,” said Nick Miller, managing partner and founder at Fortitude.

“Chris’s wealth of experience in distribution, coupled with his strategic insight into the Australian market, makes him a valuable addition to our team as we continue investing in the underrepresented lower mid-market segments across areas of technology, health, food and beverage and energy transition.”

“I am delighted to join Fortitude at such an exciting time in its growth journey. Fortitude has a distinguished track record of delivering strong returns to LPs with market-leading IRRs and a clear focus on the lower mid-market segment.

“I look forward to working closely with the leadership team and to contributing to the firm’s continued success and strategic expansion,” Brookman added.

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Nick Miller

As higher for longer inflation and interest rates continue to challenge the broader economy, companies less tied to cyclical market trends will be able to attract capital from private equity.

Nick Miller, co-founder and partner at Fortitude Investment Partners, a leading private equity firm, believes the current economic scenario offers few immediate catalysts for change. “While interest rates will eventually ease and spending will return, the turnaround will be slow,” he says.

“We’ve always been mindful to invest in companies that are not heavily linked to vagaries of economic cycle.”

Miller warns that businesses dependent on rapid economic recovery or that are heavily leveraged may face significant risks. “For high beta businesses that perform poorly when spending contracts, the delayed recovery could pose serious challenges,” he notes. “On the other hand, businesses with stable growth drivers and low correlation to discretionary spending will remain robust.”

Fortitude’s investment strategy focuses on investing in Australian companies, particularly in regional areas, with enterprise values ranging from $10 million to $80 million.

“We invest in high-quality companies in sectors like healthcare, technology food, and industrials, which exhibit secular growth potential, regardless of broader economic conditions. Our portfolio continues to grow and we remain confident in our long-term approach. We are alert to economic challenges, but not alarmed,” says Miller.

Despite some exposure to consumer discretionary sectors, Fortitude’s portfolio has shown robust growth, with a 15% increase in EBITDA over the last quarter, far outpacing Australia’s 0.2% GDP growth.

While economic growth may be sluggish, Fortitude remains focused on what matters most- helping its portfolio companies capture market share and grow steadily.

“We are more interested in improving their market share by 10-20% than worrying about minor fluctuations in GDP,” notes Miller.

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