Sydney, Australia, April 3, 2023 – Roc Partners, a leading specialist private markets investment firm, has been named Agribusiness Fund Manager of the Year in the Global category by Agri Investor for the second consecutive year. The Agri Investor global awards consider the initiatives, fundraisings and deals over the preceding 12-month period. The award highlights Roc Partners as a pioneer in private markets in Asia-Pacific and recognises the team’s continued success in the food and agriculture sector.
“We are honoured to be named Agribusiness Fund Manager of the Year (Global) for the second time and share this recognition with our portfolio companies and investors.” Brad Mytton, Managing Partner at Roc Partners, stated. “Over the past six years, we have demonstrated the ability to generate good returns from our strategy based on sound asset selection, disciplined entry valuations, strong partnerships and the integration of ESG throughout our investment process.”
With over 70 years’ combined experience and A$2.1 billion in food and agriculture investments across Australia, Roc Partners’ specialist team have built an investment model that focuses on economic and consumer trends as they relate to the food and agriculture supply chain. Current investments in the Roc Partners food and agriculture business line include premium food brands Stone Axe, Flavorite, Australia’s Oyster Coast, Lachlan River Almonds and ProTen.
While agriculture is a well-established global sector with strong market fundamentals, it has somewhat gone under the radar in Australia to date. This is despite Australia benefiting from a strong global competitive position with a reputation for producing high-quality, safe and sustainable food products which can command premium prices in global markets.
However, it appears that investors are starting to become more aware of this domestic opportunity. This has perhaps been helped by the fact the asset class’ defensive characteristics, relatively predictable cash flows and hedge against inflation are well-suited to the current economic environment. Roc Partners plan to launch their next food and agriculture fund later this year to a global investor audience. In addition to their food and agriculture team, Roc Partners recently closed their private investment fund, capped at A$400m, created specifically to provide Family Office and High Net Worth investors with access to private equity opportunities.
“There is increasing demand from sophisticated investors and wealth managers to access private market opportunities, and we’ve seen this across our private investment, private credit and secondaries funds.” Explained Mike Lukin, Group Managing Partner at Roc Partners. “With the broader market shift from public to private, and as investors continue to navigate the current environment, we expect demand from long-term focused investors will continue.”
Roc Partners’ global recognition, coupled with their deep sector experience and strong global network, highlight the team’s ability to turn insights into investment opportunities. Within food and agriculture, cost pressures and an inflationary environment present opportunity for investment managers that can drive value along the supply chain through a differentiated approach, to achieve returns in the current market and further outperform as fundamentals normalise.
For a complete list of the 2022 Agri Investor Awards, visit https://www.agriinvestor.com/
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About Roc Partners
Roc Partners is a specialist private markets investment firm with over 60 employees across four offices. We specialise in private equity, real assets and private credit. We have over A$9bn in funds under management or advice as of December 2022. Our private equity capabilities include primary, secondary, co-investment and direct investments with specialist teams for growth equity and direct food and agriculture investments. We are recognised as a leading agricultural investor, having been awarded the 2021 and 2022 Agri Investor Global Fund Manager of the Year, 2021 Asia-Pacific Fund Manager of the Year, and 2021 Asia-Pacific Agribusiness Deal of the Year. We have been in operation since 1996 and became a majority employee-owned firm in 2014 through a management buyout.
