Matthew Watmore

Matthew Watmore is a member of the investment team at CBPE Capital, a London-based mid-market private equity firm founded in 1984 (originally as Close Brothers Private Equity, becoming independent through a management buyout in 2008). He joined CBPE in 2018 and has since worked across a number of the firm's investments and exits. He was promoted to Director with effect from 1 April 2025, having previously held Investment Manager and Investment Director roles.

Before joining CBPE, Watmore trained and worked at PwC, and he is a qualified chartered accountant (ICAEW — Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales). His professional skill set centers on financial analysis, financial modeling, valuation, accounting and private equity deal execution — the transaction and diligence toolkit typical of a mid-market buyout investor.

At CBPE, Watmore has been involved in both new investments and realisations. He supported the firm's 2020 investment in ETL Systems (led by Jolyon Latimer and Ben Lewis), worked on the investment in accountancy and professional-services firm BKL, and was part of the team on CBPE's exit of occupational-health provider Optima Health, which was sold in 2022. He is based in CBPE's London office.

• Invests through CBPE's fund strategy, which backs primary buyouts of growing, cash-generative businesses headquartered in the UK and Ireland.
• Typical equity investment of £10m–£80m in companies with enterprise values up to ~£175m (raised from ~£150m in prior fund cycles).
• Concentrates on CBPE's five core sectors: business services, financial services, healthcare & pharmaceuticals, industrials, and technology.
• Deploys capital from CBPE Fund XI, which closed at its £714m hard cap (a 27% step-up from the £561m Fund X closed in 2020).
• Backs management buyouts and provides development / acquisition-financing capital — i.e., partners with existing management teams of established businesses rather than funding early-stage startups.