Rebecca Burke, Bluegem CFO, sits down with The Drawdown to reflect on the firm's recent partnership with Lagfin
London, 31 July 2025
CFO Rebecca Burke reflects on the firm’s recent GP stake deal and the importance of going beyond the paperwork to find the right investor.
A head chef would be rightly annoyed if a new minority investor in their popular restaurant wanted to completely change the menu. When picking a partner, you want a counterpart seeking alignment, not carte blanche, which is as true in GP stakes deals as in fine dining.
In June 2025, Bluegem Capital Partners sold a minority GP stake to Lagfin, the first time the firm had undertaken such a deal. Bluegem CFO Rebecca Burke reflects that the process of selling a GP stake is similar to acquiring a portfolio company, though the relationship is founded on a much longer time horizon.
“This isn’t just a financial transaction. It’s a strategic partnership for the future,” says Burke. “This is a long-term, if not forever, partnership. It’s a bit like going into a marriage. You want to be aligned on your values and strategy.”
GP stakes deals have hit record numbers in Europe amid a market slowdown. According to the 2025 Global Private Markets Report by McKinsey, a record number (11) of GP stake funds were raised in 2024, totalling $4.4bn in capital.
Even so, GPs selling stakes typically enter into these deals without prior experience, necessitating thorough due diligence and a sprinkle of intuition to get the right result.
Making it work.
Burke cites the success of the deal to the relationship-based approach of the firm. Now in her 13th year at the firm, she has embraced the Italian way of thinking - the firm was founded in London by two Italian professionals, Emilio Di Spiezio Sardo & Marco Capello. The phrase ‘it’s in my belly’ is often used at the firm to describe the gut feeling - knowing deep down whether something will work or not. The approach was fundamental to closing the stake sale.
“The relationship [with the outsourced team] was already there, and there was already mutual knowledge and understanding of our way of working and our unique investment strategy,” Burke says. “So the due diligence built on that, covering tax, legal and finance. The key aspect however was always the strategic fit.”
She says that going beyond the paperwork to find the strategic fit on a personal level holds more value - “that’s the bit of the due diligence that isn’t really on a page”. She adds that is cannot be forced.
The completion of the stake sale also saw Sardo succeed fellow co-founded Capello as CEO. Burke says succession and creating liquidity were the motivation for the deal but not the only considerations. Alignment of strategy - on operations, data management, incentives, managerial independence, income distributions and metrics - are all essential, as is a shared vision for the future of the firm.
That put pressure on Burke and her team of three to ensure the data was concrete, just as they would on an acquisition through the fund, even when Excel is your primary tool for building the model.
“You’re never going to get it right - the very fact that it’s a model implies it is a simulation of the future,” she explains. “But spending time working through that model, explaining where your view and the other party’s view might differ, on fund size, speed or on whether you raise a fund every three years or five years, or do we want to have bigger future funds or stay a similar size? And it is about making sure the numbers fit around that strategy.”
Cooking it up.
Prior to Bluegem, Burke had various roles, including fund accountant in the early days of Triton Partners. Like an experienced chef, she is very used to working hard in the background, letting others take care of the front of house.
“I’m more of a behind-the-scenes person. I’m a dotter of the I’s and a crosser of the T’s. I’m very much an order- and process-oriented person,” she says.
As the GP stakes deal progressed quickly from a term sheet to a deal, to the official announcement, Burke looked at the small items that might be overlooked in the process while the CEO led with the bigger picture - the firm’s strategy.
Explaining the CFO view, she says: “As a CFO, your top priority, always, is protecting and optimising the financial stability of the business. Knowing that’s your fundamental overarching responsibility and nothing changes [in that regard].”
The stake sale to Lagfin also meant her focus had to expand to assessing whether “what they bring to us is something we couldn’t do on our own, or would it take much longer to do on our own?”
For that, being on the same page about the strategy and workflow is essential. Emphasising the ‘in your belly’ feeling.
“Because they [Lagfin] have this extensive network in the market that we are in, and also having a cornerstone investor that has done this GP stake and will support the fundraising, shows that they share our strategy and vision,” adds Burke. “We obviously already believe in ourselves but it’s nice to have that underpinned by a third party who has a global network within our industry.”
Sitting on the other side of the transaction for GPs bring a change in perspective and can even alter the way they administer acquisitions in the future.
“We’re normally the examiner rather than the examinee,” Burke adds. “It will be insightful for Bluegem when we now look to acquire the next business, as we have seen from the other side slightly as well, though we have always had a relationship-based approach with our portfolios.”
Bluegem is awaiting the taste test that is regulatory approval for completion of the transaction.