Praesidian makes joint hires

Investment manager Praesidian Capital Europe has made two new hires to its London office.

Serkan Dede and Sarah Pierce have both been appointed investment directors at Presidian, which provides senior and subordinated debt along with growth capital predominantly to UK companies, according to a statement.

Jason Drattell, founder of Praesidian Capital, said: “They are both eminently qualified from their work in banking and finance to facilitate transaction origination, structuring, and execution in the lower middle market.”

Dede joined Praesidian in September and brings with him nine years of experience in corporate banking and leveraged finance. Most recently, he served as an associate director at Lloyds Bank in acquisition finance, where he focused on acquisitions and leveraged buyouts in the UK lower mid-market sector. 

Before joining Praesidian in October, Pierce worked in various roles in the Royal Bank of Scotland’s UK Structured Finance team for five years, recently as a director in their origination and execution team for the lower mid-market. Prior to that, she worked in RBS’s mid-market financials sponsors team originating off-market private equity transactions. She also worked in the mid-market structured finance transactions team executing corporate transactions.

Last month, Praesidian invested £7 million in debt capital and £1 million in equity in Redeem, a UK-based mobile phone and electronics specialist. An additional £2 million will be available to the company as an acquisition line of financing.

Praesidian’s parent company, Praesidian Capital, is based in New York and manages roughly $1 billion in committed capital.