This hot new tech private equity firm has been hiring from Goldman Sachs in London

Apax Partners is fast-emerging as the place to be. The private equity firm is in the process of raising $1bn for its first technology fund and has been hiring both senior and junior staff in New York.

But it's also recruiting in London. It’s just hired Nicolas Dupuis, an investment banking associate Goldman Sachs in the UK, work for its new digital-focused fund. Dupuis has spent the past four years at Goldman, having joined straight after completing a first class degree in Mathematics and Economics from the London School of Economics.

Apax’s new fund is likely to invest in “high-growth software, internet and tech enabled service companies globally”. As Financial News reported on Monday, it’s been building its team – bringing in Mike Cooke from TA Associates and Bilal Chaudhry from KKR as well as a team of four associates who joined in July. Dupuis is a new addition who signed up in August.

Aside from his Goldman experience, Dupuis is not the typical investment banking to private equity career switcher. He’s been running a small investment fund called Timezone Ventures, which targets early stage start-ups. He also spent three years as a portfolio manager for student-run investment fund Global Platinum Securities and was head of marketing for the LSE’s Alternative Investments Conference. In other words, a buy-side move was always likely.

Apax is following in the footsteps of large private equity firms CVC and KKR, which recently started new technology funds.

Its new recruits are also hopping on a trend of junior bankers leaving bulge bracket firms for tech-focused private equity and VC funds. Increasingly, analysts and associates within the telecoms media and technology (TMT) teams of large investment banks are being targeted by a range of tech-focused buy-side firms.

Contact: pclarke@efinancialcareers.com

Image: Getty Images