Bridges recruits Tom Biddle to lead pioneering Evergreen Holdings vehicle

We are delighted to announce that Tom Biddle has joined Bridges to lead Bridges Evergreen Holdings, our pioneering long-term capital vehicle.

Tom will be responsible for leading Evergreen Holdings’ origination and investment processes, building its funds under management, and working with its portfolio companies to help them build value and deliver on their impact goals. He will be working closely with Bridges co-CEO Philip Newborough and the Bridges Sustainable Growth Funds, in line with Bridges’ goal to be the investment partner of choice for mission-driven businesses in the UK with ambitions to accelerate their growth and scale their impact. 

Prior to joining Bridges, Tom was a Partner at CBPE Capital, the UK mid-market investor, where he led and worked on a number of successful investments including Rodericks Dental, ABI holiday homes, Hollywood Bowl and Côte Restaurants. Tom joined CBPE in 2013 from LGV, the private equity arm of Legal & General. He started his career with Deloitte, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant before moving into M&A at Close Brothers (now DC Advisory).

Tom Biddle, Partner and Head of Bridges Evergreen Holdings, said:

“I am really excited to be joining Bridges as the Head of Evergreen Holdings. Its long-term capital model is highly differentiated in the market and I believe it is ideally suited for investing in ambitious mission-driven growth businesses. I’m looking forward to driving further growth of both our funding pool and our portfolio companies.”

Tom’s appointment comes after Scott Greenhalgh, who as Executive Chairman has led Bridges Evergreen Holdings since its launch in 2016, decided to step back from his day-to-day role.

Scott Greenhalgh said:

“Evergreen has had an excellent run since 2016, raising over £50m, investing in four high-impact mission-driven businesses and delivering strong performance – with portfolio valuation uplifts each quarter even over the last year. It has been a real privilege to have led the fund from its inception; I have had the opportunity to work with some truly wonderful entrepreneurs, and I am very grateful to the extremely supportive group of investors who have backed this pioneering strategy.“

Philip Newborough, co-CEO of Bridges Fund Management, said:

“We’re absolutely delighted that Tom has agreed to join us to lead Evergreen Holdings. There is a clear market need for the combination of mission-aligned capital and hands-on operating and impact excellence that Evergreen offers. Tom has an outstanding track record in private equity, both in terms of originating deals and working with management teams to build value. So he is just the right person to help us build the team, attract new investors into the Evergreen structure, and support our existing portfolio companies to continue their growth trajectory.

“We are also hugely grateful to Scott for his contribution to Evergreen and Bridges more broadly. He has played an instrumental role in Evergreen’s success to date, leading all our investments and creating an outstanding platform for growth. We wish him every success in his future endeavours.”