Robert Knight
Principal
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- Full Name
- Robert ("Rob") Knight
- Title
- Partner *(promoted from Principal in April 2021)*
- Firm
- Silverfleet Capital
- Firm Type
- Mid-market private equity (buy-and-build / buyout) — not an angel/seed investor, despite the stub data
- Investment Stage
- Mid-market control buyouts and buy-and-build (not seed)
- Check Size
- Targets businesses with enterprise values of roughly €75m–€500m (firm-level mandate)
- Target Company Profile
- Established, internationally-minded businesses with scope to accelerate growth via buy-and-build and roll-out strategies
- Sector Focus
- Healthcare, services, consumer, and manufacturing (firm-wide); Knight's deals skew toward consumer/services
- Geographic Focus
- UK, France, German-speaking Europe, Benelux and the Nordics; US businesses with a substantial European presence
- Location
- London, United Kingdom
Background
Robert Knight is a Partner at Silverfleet Capital, a London-headquartered European mid-market private equity firm with additional offices historically in Paris, Munich and Chicago. He read Economics and Management at Hertford College, University of Oxford (2004–2007). Before moving into private equity, he worked as an Associate in N M Rothschild's M&A advisory team, where he focused on the consumer and retail sectors.
Knight joined Silverfleet in 2011. He was promoted to investment executive in November 2012, rose to Principal, and in April 2021 was promoted to Partner alongside colleague Ricardo Sommer. Over his tenure he has worked on a string of Silverfleet's deals across consumer, services and manufacturing.
Silverfleet itself is a regionally-focused European mid-market firm established in 2006 (with roots in the former private equity arm of Prudential / MidOcean). It pursues control buyouts of established businesses, typically with enterprise values between €75m and €500m, and grows them through buy-and-build and international roll-out. The firm raised its second independent fund (Silverfleet Capital Partners II) at €850m in 2015. In July 2021 Silverfleet abandoned fundraising for a planned third fund and refocused on follow-on investments and managing out its existing portfolio; as of early 2025 it is a small team (publicly reported as around 7 employees) and has posted notices warning about fraudulent third parties misusing its name.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Stage / structure: Mid-market control buyouts — majority stakes in established, profitable companies, not early-stage or seed financing.
- Value-creation model: Silverfleet's core playbook is "buy-and-build" and geographic roll-out — backing companies that can be scaled internationally and through bolt-on acquisitions.
- Size: Firm-level mandate targets enterprise values of roughly €75m–€500m.
- Sectors: Healthcare, services, consumer and manufacturing; Knight's personal deal history leans toward consumer (travel, retail) and services.
- Geography: UK, France, German-speaking Europe, Benelux, the Nordics, plus US businesses with a substantial European footprint.
Notable Investments
- Riviera Travel — UK specialist tour operator; Silverfleet acquired a majority stake in December 2017.
- Lifetime Training — UK workplace training / apprenticeship provider; Silverfleet portfolio company.
- Collectia — Nordic debt-collection / credit-management group; Silverfleet investment, and Knight currently sits on its board.
- Cimbria — Danish agricultural processing and handling equipment maker; an early Silverfleet deal (c. 2011).
- Ipes — European private-equity fund-administration and outsourcing business.
- Phase One Communications — Knight served as a Non-Executive Director; the investment is reported to have generated a 4.6x return.
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