David Forbes

David Forbes is a Partner and Investment Committee member at Vespa Capital, a London-based lower-mid-market private equity firm he joined in 2015. In his role he is responsible for the full investment cycle, from deal origination through to divestment, working across sourcing, execution, portfolio value creation and exit.

Before Vespa, David spent two years investing at Maven Capital Partners, a UK mid-market private equity and venture investor. Prior to that he spent roughly eight years in the Corporate Finance team at Grant Thornton, where he advised management teams on management buyouts and buy-ins (MBOs/MBIs) and on debt refinancing transactions — experience that maps directly onto Vespa's buyout-led strategy.

David is a chartered accountant, having qualified as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in 2008. He currently holds board seats at Vespa portfolio companies including Cognite, Rocksteady (Rocksteady Music School) and FibroFind, and has worked with Vespa investments including Chase, Com Laude, Feefo, Bluecrest and Flag.

Vespa Capital itself was founded in 2007, manages £300m+ in assets, and describes its team as having over 100 years of combined experience, having invested more than £1bn of equity across 50+ transactions. It positions itself as a hands-on investment partner rather than a passive fund manager, emphasising alignment (the investment team is described as the largest investor in its own funds) and an entrepreneur network of C-suite executives and industrialists that supports portfolio companies.

• Backs management buyouts, recapitalisations and growth deals in UK lower-mid-market companies, typically with enterprise values of ~£10m–£70m.
• Seeks "high-quality and differentiated businesses with specialist IP, know-how or technology that supports strategic growth" — i.e., niche, defensible, often disruptive companies.
• Operates as a partnership-oriented investor: the firm stresses that "the investment team at Vespa Capital together have been the largest investor in our funds," signalling alignment with founders and management.
• Adds value through international expertise and an "Entrepreneur network comprising C-suite executives and industrialists," plus a stated commitment to responsible investment and building sustainable businesses.
• David's own remit spans the entire investment lifecycle, so he engages on both deal selection and long-term board-level value creation rather than passive capital deployment.