Building a private markets firm for the 'missing middle'

The transition to a low- or no-carbon economy requires more than just money. It requires a combination of skills and capital that has not traditionally existed in private markets. This was the view taken by Charles Cherington and Troy Thacker, who in 2017 co-founded Ara Partners to take a "builder" approach to the decarbonisation of industry, with a particular focus on difficult-to-abate sectors. Eight years later, the firm has raised three generations of its flagship private equity fund, and is raising an infrastructure strategy. In doing so it has helped define the emerging category of decarbonisation-focused private markets investors. "You hear a lot in this world about the missing middle; that's right where we sit; And you know, we're a drop in the bucket," says Cherington in this episode. "We are taking the hand-off from venture, we are taking proven technologies in companies that need to be industrialised, building the first handful of plants, and when we are done, we'll be handing those companies off to public markets, large strategics or mega-cap private equity." Join us as we talk to Cherington about the rapid growth of the firm, and what he wishes he had known eight years ago. To subscribe and hear more episodes already online, search for The New Private Markets Podcast wherever you like to listen, or click here.