Established in 2005, Next Capital’s founding partners Sandy Lockhart, Patrick Elliott and John White are former principals of Macquarie Bank’s private equity division, Macquarie Direct Investment (MDI). MDI raised four private equity funds that generated an average internal rate of return of around 30% from the 33 realised deals at the time of the Partners’ departure.

James Murphy joined the partnership in 2014, following a period as an Investment Director with Next Capital.  Prior to joining Next, James’ background is in investment banking and strategy consulting.

The Principals’ extensive private equity experience and strong track record of success attracted the support of blue-chip Australian institutions who invested A$265 million in Next Capital Fund I in 2005. The A$285 million fundraising for Next Capital Fund II was concluded in 2009, and the A$256 million fundraising for Next Capital III closed in May 2016; each of Fund II and III introduced a number of new blue-chip international investors.