AshGrove Announces Managing Partners, Appoints Longstanding Senior Advisor as Chairman, and Completes Shareholder Buyout
Phil Fretwell and Jonathon Ferguson announced as Managing Partners
Long-standing Limited Partner and Senior Advisor Simon Turner appointed Non-Executive Chairman
Phil Fretwell and Jonathon Ferguson led a buyout of certain shareholders, including Co-Founder Ilkka Rantanen - who reinvests a meaningful portion of his proceeds - and two prominent Nordic family offices, Veikko Laine Oy and Spontel.
London, 12 March 2026: AshGrove, a €1 billion European fund investor specialising in tailored capital for B2B software and services businesses, today announced the appointment of Phil Fretwell and Jonathon Ferguson as Managing Partners, reflecting the continued evolution of the firm’s leadership structure as the platform scales. As part of this broader evolution, long-standing Limited Partner and Senior Advisor Simon Turner has also been appointed Non-Executive Chairman.
Alongside these changes Phil Fretwell and Jonathon Ferguson, with support from Simon Turner, have facilitated a buyout of AshGrove’s remaining shareholders. This transaction includes the divestment of equity by Co-Founder Ilkka Rantanen - who reinvests a meaningful portion of his proceeds into the platform - as well as the exit of two prominent Nordic family offices. AshGrove is deeply grateful for the significant contribution and support provided by these family offices during the firm’s foundational years. The transaction consolidates ownership in the firm and provides additional primary capital to support AshGrove’s continued investment in its team, systems and infrastructure as the platform scales.
The changes are designed to simplify the shareholder base and will create space for a wider leadership bench across the business, ensuring AshGrove continues to build depth and accountability as its strategy, geographic footprint and investor base expand. Ben Gibson, who was promoted to Partner in January, will assume an expanded leadership role as part of this broader evolution. AshGrove has continued to develop its team from within, with a number of its most senior professionals having been with the firm for many years and playing a central role in the platform’s growth to date.
Ilkka will continue to lead the firm’s Nordic expansion, together with Samuli Kytö, following the opening of the Copenhagen office earlier this year. Ilkka remains a full-time senior member of the AshGrove leadership team and will continue to play a key role in the firm’s development as it expands its presence across Europe. This reflects AshGrove’s approach of building regional leadership capability alongside its investment and portfolio activity.
Since 2020 AshGrove has evolved from a founder-led investment business into a broad institutional platform. AshGrove has dedicated capabilities across investment and asset management, origination, investor relations, people and culture, finance & operations and legal & compliance. During this period the firm has grown to manage approximately €1 billion of commitments, having more than doubled the size of its second fund compared with its first and reaching the fund’s hard cap.
Jonathon Ferguson, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, said: “The opportunity across European B2B software and services continues to broaden as businesses look for specialist capital partners who understand the nuances of their business models including their growth dynamics. Our focus has been on building a platform with the origination reach and market connectivity to access that opportunity consistently, while maintaining the discipline that has underpinned our performance to date.”
Phil Fretwell, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, added: “As the firm has grown, it has been important to ensure the platform evolves in a deliberate and considered way. Strengthening our leadership structure reflects both the depth of talent across AshGrove and our ambition to scale the business thoughtfully, investing ahead of future growth so we are well positioned to support our investors and portfolio companies over the long term.
We are immensely grateful to our selling shareholders, including the two Nordic family offices that supported our early growth, and to Ilkka, whose contribution has been, and will continue to be, instrumental. We are delighted that Ilkka remains such a central part of our leadership team and will continue to be a meaningful stakeholder as we enter this next phase. We are also delighted that Simon Turner, who has worked closely with the firm for many years and is an exceptional business builder, will take on the role of Non-Executive Chairman and deepen his alignment with the business.”
Completion remains subject to FCA approval. This announcement is not an offer to invest in any AshGrove fund, and no fund interests are being offered to the UK public.