Team

The WestBridge senior team have worked together for many years both previously and since founding WestBridge in 2008. They have many years' combined experience in private equity gained at WestBridge and other blue chip organisations.

All have a passion for investing in and supporting management to grow lower mid-market companies, and each has invested significant amounts in WestBridge managed funds.


Guy Davies

Guy Davies

Managing Partner


Guy co-founded WestBridge in 2008 and manages the business, co-leads the investor relations activities and sits on the investment committee. He is also involved in originating investment opportunities in the North West and South West regions.

Guy has worked in the private equity industry as a principal and management team advisor for over 25 years at WestBridge, Deloitte, HSBC Private Equity and Pi Capital. Prior to this, he worked at KPMG, in both the UK and the US, undertaking due diligence and audit assignments.

Guy is a board member at Tryzens and Techex.  He was originally responsible for the APEM investment and heavily involved in the Aptus and Eque2 investments and he remains actively involved in the value creation and exit planning of these companies.

Guy is a chartered accountant and graduated from the University of Warwick with a degree in Accounting and Finance.

 
James Wakefield

James Wakefield

Chairman


James co-founded WestBridge in 2008, and chairs the business and the investment committee and is involved in the investor relations activities. He is also involved in originating investment opportunities in the North East and South Coast regions.

James has worked in the private equity industry for over 35 years at WestBridge and Bridgepoint, where he ran two regional offices and was originally a member of the London based transaction team. Prior to this, he worked for NatWest Investment Bank.

James currently sits on the board of Wilcomatic, DB Pixelhouse, Acuity Care Group (formerly Bespoke) and Alpine, is an alternate director of Smart Capital Technology and was previously on the boards of the realised investments, AJM Healthcare and Vista Technology Support Group.

Valerie Kendal

Valerie Kendall

Founding Partner


Valerie co-founded WestBridge in 2008, and is a member of the investment committee and chairs the valuations committee. She is also involved in origination activities in the South East and Thames Valley regions.

Valerie has worked in the private equity industry for 30 years at WestBridge, 3i and HSBC. At 3i, she worked in the London and Reading deal teams and was latterly responsible for the management and realisation of their third party fund in the lower mid-market.

Valerie currently sits on the boards of APEM, Eque2, SCT, Channel 3 Consulting and Techex and was previously responsible for the exited bChannels, Kallidus, Energist and ISG investments.

Valerie is a chartered banker and graduated from the University of Plymouth with a degree in Business and Finance.

Tim Whittard

Tim Whittard

Partner


Tim joined WestBridge in 2017, and leads and manages the origination activities nationally and is also heavily involved in team development. He particularly focusses on originating investment opportunities in the Midlands, South West and South East regions.

Tim has worked in the private equity industry for over 20 years at WestBridge, Sovereign, Gresham, Bridgepoint and the BGF, where he was one of the founding directors in the Midlands region. Prior to this, he worked for PWC.

Tim currently sits on the boards of Aptus, Acuity Care Group and Techex and was on the board of the exited AJM Healthcare investment.

Tim is a chartered accountant and graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology.

Katherine Bond

Katherine Bond

Director - Investor Relations


Katherine joined WestBridge in 2020, is based in our London office and leads our investor engagement activities.

Katherine has more than 20 years’ experience in European private equity. Before joining WestBridge, she was a consultant at Cadence Equity Partners leading their fundraising activities and prior to this a partner at Keyhaven Capital Partners. Previously, she was a member of the Client Services group at HgCapital and began her career at AXA Private Equity as a member of the European fund of funds team.

Katherine is a graduate of Aston University and EDHEC Lille, where she studied International Business and French. She also holds an Investment Management Certificate which she completed at London Business School.

Peter Barkley

Peter Barkley

Partner


Peter joined WestBridge in 2019 and heads our Manchester office. He is particularly focussed on originating new investments and supporting current investments in the North.

Prior to joining WestBridge, Peter worked as a corporate finance advisor specialising on advising management teams and both buy and sell side to private equity houses for over 8 years at BDO and Dow Schofield Watts.

Peter sits on the board of APEM, Eque2, Aptus, Alpine and Land Survey Solutions and also supports the Wilcomatic team. He is heavily involved in value creation at all of these companies. Peter is also a judge for the BVCA Management Team Awards for the North West and North East regions.

Peter is a chartered accountant and graduated from the University of Hull with a degree in Accountancy.

James MacLeay

James MacLeay

Investment Director


James joined WestBridge in 2018, is a member of the investment team and involved in deal origination, deal execution and portfolio management. He particularly focusses on originating investments in the South West and the South East.

Prior to joining WestBridge, James worked as a corporate finance advisor specialising in advising private equity investors and banks deploy capital into SMEs at Kingston Smith Corporate Finance.

James currently sits on the boards of DB Pixelhouse, Channel 3 Consulting and Techex, is an alternate director at Eque2 and Alpine and was previously on the board of bChannels. Sponsored by the managing partner, James also manages the firm’s responsible investment strategy and the implementation of ESG initiatives.

James is a chartered accountant and graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in Geography.

Edward Minton

Edward Minton

Investment Director


Edward joined WestBridge in 2018, is a member of the investment team and involved in deal origination, deal execution and portfolio management. He particularly focusses on originating investment opportunities in the Thames Valley, East Midlands and East Anglia.

Prior to joining WestBridge, Edward worked as a corporate finance advisor specialising in advising management teams looking to raise capital and undertake buyouts at WK Corporate Finance. He previously worked at Terra Firma Capital Partners and Crowe.

Edward currently sits on the board of Smart Capital Technology, Acuity Care Group, Wilcomatic and Tryzens. He was previously an alternate director of the realised investment, AJM healthcare.

Edward is a chartered accountant and graduated from Kings College London with a first class honours degree in business management.

Rebecca Sinclair

Rebecca Sinclair

Investment Manager


Rebecca joined WestBridge in 2019 and supports the investment team with deal origination, deal execution and portfolio management. She splits her time between the London and Manchester offices.

Prior to joining WestBridge, Rebecca worked at HSBC.  Having completed its Corporate Banking Graduate Scheme, she went on to contribute to the successful completion of over 40 transactions and became the youngest person to be promoted to Senior Associate in its leveraged finance team. 

Rebecca sits on the board of Land Survey Solutions and is alternate director at Channel 3 Consulting and APEM, where she is working closely with the management team to execute the buy-and-build strategy. She is also part of the investment team for Acuity Care Group (formerly Bespoke) and Eque2. Rebecca is also responsible for the successful implementation and execution of the WestBridge value creation model.

A graduate of the University of Durham, where she studied Biology, Rebecca also holds a Diploma in Banking Practice and Finance. 

Rory Whitrow

Rory Whitrow

Investment Executive


Rory joined WestBridge in 2021 and supports the investment team with deal origination, deal execution and portfolio management. He is based in the London office and is involved with the firm’s investment activities across the UK. Rory holds an alternate board seat on Smart Capital Technology and also supports the Techex team.

Prior to joining WestBridge, Rory worked as a Management Consultant at Newton Europe, a consultancy that works with management teams to drive operational improvement throughout an organisation, identifying and implementing solutions to some of the most complex issues facing businesses.

Rory is a graduate of the University of Exeter, where he achieved a First Class Honours degree in Business and Management. Rory is currently studying towards his Chartered Institute of Management Accountants qualification.

Jessica Ledger

Jessica Ledger

Investment Executive


Jess joined WestBridge in 2023 and supports the investment team with deal origination, deal execution and portfolio management. She is based in the London office and is involved with the firm’s investment activities across the UK. Jess currently sits on the board of Tryzens and supports the teams at Acuity, Channel 3 Consulting and DB Pixelhouse.

Prior to joining WestBridge, Jess worked at Investec where she completed the Corporate Investment Bank Graduate Scheme, working across debt, advisory and venture capital teams. Following this, she worked as a corporate finance advisor, specialising in advising fast growth companies raise equity capital.

Jess graduated from the University of Exeter with a first class honours degree in Politics and International Relations.

 
Luke Gilbert

Luke Gilbert

Investment Executive


Luke joined WestBridge in 2023 and supports the investment team with deal origination, deal execution and portfolio management. He is based in the London office and is involved with the firm’s investment activities across the UK. Luke is a board observer at Land Survey Solutions and supports the teams at Alpine and Aptus.

Prior to joining WestBridge, Luke worked as an M&A Associate in the London office of Stephens, a US-headquartered investment bank, where he advised on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions in the Industrial and Technology sectors. He has supported a range of private equity-backed and founder-owned companies.

Luke graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in Economics.

Thomas Dutton

Thomas Dutton

Senior Investment Manager


Thomas joined WestBridge in 2024 and is a member of the investment team involved in deal origination, deal execution and portfolio management. He is based in the Manchester office with a particular focus on originating new investments in the North whilst supporting the team at Alpine.

Prior to joining WestBridge, Thomas was a corporate finance Director at Dow Schofield Watts, advising on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions. He has also supported a range of private equity-backed companies on their buy and build journeys.

Thomas is a chartered accountant and graduated from Lancaster University with a degree in Accountancy and Finance.