Bluebell Capital Partners Closes After Struggling to Scale, Shifting Focus to Co-Investments and Advisory Roles

Bluebell Capital Partners, a London-based activist investment firm founded five years ago, is closing its doors after facing challenges in expanding its investor base. The firm, which is now returning capital to external investors, struggled to scale its assets beyond €100 million to €200 million, according to co-founder Marco Taricco, as reported by the Financial Times.

Although Bluebell faced difficulties raising capital, it managed to generate an annualized return of around 8%. Despite shutting down the fund, the firm plans to continue its activist investment efforts, albeit in a different structure. It intends to focus on co-investments and advisory roles, leveraging its deep expertise in activism without relying on a pooled hedge fund structure.

Bluebell Capital Partners originally began as Bluebell Partners in 2014, an advisory firm set up by Taricco and Giuseppe Bivona. Initially, the firm provided valuable investment ideas to prominent activist investors such as Elliott Management and Jana Partners, often co-investing with them and negotiating profit-sharing arrangements. Over time, the firm grew its presence and shifted its focus to a more formal hedge fund model.

In 2019, Bluebell Partners transitioned into a hedge fund, with Taricco co-founding Bluebell Capital Partners alongside Francesco Trapani, the former CEO of Italian luxury brand Bvlgari. The firm adopted an activist strategy targeting medium to large companies. Rather than taking controlling stakes, Bluebell invested modestly while working with larger players to maximize its influence over company decisions.

Throughout its operations, Bluebell launched several high-profile activist campaigns, including efforts at BP, Richemont, and GSK. One of its most notable actions this year involved pushing BP to abandon its plans to scale back oil and gas production, urging the company to reconsider its approach amid its clean energy transition goals. Bluebell also joined other investors in pressuring Reckitt, a leading FTSE 100 consumer goods company, to separate its hygiene and health divisions from its nutrition business to unlock shareholder value.

While the closure of the fund marks the end of an era for Bluebell Capital, the firm’s legacy as an influential activist investor will likely continue through its advisory and co-investment activities.