Charles Graham

Charles Graham is Managing Director of Gresham in Sydney and is active across the firm’s advisory and investing businesses. Gresham describes itself as Australia’s leading independent advisory and funds management firm, with businesses spanning corporate advisory, debt advisory, property, capital partners, and distribution partners.

At Gresham, Graham has advised on major M&A and financing transactions including Woodside’s merger with BHP Petroleum, Newcrest Mining’s sale to Newmont Corporation, Platinum Equity’s acquisition of JELD-WEN Australia, Commonwealth Bank’s sale of Equigroup, Bank of Queensland’s acquisition of Investec Bank Australia, Platinum Equity’s acquisition of a majority stake in Sensis from Telstra, KKR’s acquisition of Pepper Group, and Telstra Board negotiations with the Australian Government and NBN Co. Gresham states that his cumulative M&A and financing transaction experience exceeds US$150 billion.

Before joining Gresham, Graham was a Managing Director with Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York, where he worked on transactions for clients including News Corporation, Time Warner, Nielsen, EMC Corporation, Intergraph, Philips, Dow Jones, and Warner Music. Earlier, he worked for Rio Tinto at its aluminium operations, Comalco, in engineering and business development roles.

Graham holds Bachelor degrees in Engineering and Commerce from the University of Sydney, where he was a Chancellor’s Scholar; a Masters degree in Information Technology from Deakin University; and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Chairman of Musica Viva Australia, where he has served as a director since 14 October 2012.

• Gresham Capital Partners says: “We invest to build leading growth companies” and aims to be the “private capital partner of choice for founders, entrepreneurs and management teams.”
• GCP targets Australian and New Zealand companies with enterprise values typically between A$20 million and A$200 million.
• The firm invests across growth equity, buyouts, buy-ins, succession, corporate carve-outs, recapitalisations, and equity-like structures such as debt plus warrants and convertible debt.
• GCP is flexible on structure and timing, can take minority stakes, and says it does not seek to aggressively use debt because growth businesses need headroom and flexibility.
• GCP generally avoids early-stage start-ups, property development, infrastructure, natural resources, and public companies, except public-to-private transactions.
• The firm looks for smaller, stable businesses with positive earnings and later-stage start-ups with a clear and visible path to profitability and a proven business model.
• Sector focus includes TMT, healthcare, services, consumer and retail, education, and industrials, with examples including software, fintech, medical technologies, business services, ecommerce, edtech, automation, robotics, and renewable energy.
• Gresham’s model uses its broader advisory platform, operating-manager relationships, strategic partners, advisors, and market participants to source and develop opportunities.