We have run and successfully exited our own businesses which puts us in a unique position to understand the needs and challenges of companies in which we invest.
Entrepreneurs backing entrepreneurs
Khilan Dodhia
Partner
Khilan is responsible for the overall investment strategy of Encore, with a focus on sourcing and delivering transactions in the £1m to £10m equity range.
Prior to joining Encore Capital, Khilan co-led Barclays Ventures, London. He was instrumental in building this business into one of the UK's leading lower mid-market investors. He served on the Operating Board of Barclays Ventures and on the Barclays Turnaround Executive Committee.
Khilan is passionate about working with growth companies and has invested in and served on the Board of over 20 companies. These include 99p Stores, Medhotels, Findaproperty.com and Uninterruptible Power Supplies. He has overseen the exit of numerous investments during this period, including Esprit Travel Group, Iglu, Searchflow, and Exor, delivering significant capital gains.
He graduated from the London School of Economics with a BSc (Econ) in Economics and is a member of the Securities Institute.
Dimitri Tzililis
Partner
Prior to joining Encore Capital, Dimitri was the Portfolio Director at Barclays Ventures, London. During his 9 years with Barclays Ventures, he served on the Operating Board and on the Turnaround Executive Committee.
Dimitri also served on the Board of many investee companies including Regalead, Ancyra Healthcare, Media Audits and Youtravel.com. For the last 6 years, he focused on the in-house Turnaround Proposition and oversaw several investments in that area. He is very familiar with companies undergoing periods of fundamental change and the challenges this presents to all stakeholders.
Dimitri is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder and graduated from Imperial College with an MSc in Finance.
Rajesh Shah
Partner
Rajesh's investment focus is on the sales and marketing process and in particular the use of digital media to drive sales. This focus combined with his operational experience is invaluable in both investment appraisal and in supporting management team's growth plans.
Rajesh spent the early part of his career in the marketing industry where he co-founded the award winning agency Swordfish, building the business from start up to billing revenues in excess of £4m. In 2003, he was part of a buy in team that acquired, developed and exited a support services business, building revenue from from £3m to £12m over a four year period.
Since 2007 he has focused on principal investment activities, successfully building a portfolio of private equity assets including many which are part of the Encore portfolio.
Ed Shah
Partner
Ed spent the first 6 years of his career working in the City with KPMG. He successfully qualified as a Chartered Accountant and subsequently joined the corporate finance division.
During this time he was involved in providing advice to various corporates with regard to acquisitions, fund raising and flotation. His clients were from a cross section of industry and commerce and included Diageo, Cable & Wireless and French Connection.
In 2001 he moved into industry with a focus on financial and operational change. He became MD of a support services business in 2005 where he completed a successful transition of the company from a business heavily reliant on dominant vendor to a business run by an autonomous management team. This enabled all stakeholders to make a solid return on their investment.
He has subsequently served on the Board of a number of Encore Capital's portfolio companies, supporting the management teams in change management programs which have been key to driving profitable growth.
Shirin Gandhi
Partner
Shirin is a qualified chartered accountant and experienced investment principal who previously worked in the City of London for over 20 years prior to becoming a Partner at Encore Capital.
He spent the early part of his career within Corporate Finance focussing on advising SME's in a broad range of M&A activities and the raising of venture and development capital, leverage finance, deal structuring and execution in addition to acting as a Nominated Advisor of the London Stock Exchange and advising numerous businesses on flotation on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM)
Prior to Encore, Shirin focussed on principal investment activities successfully building a portfolio of private equity assets including some that continue to be part of the Encore portfolio.
"I have been truly impressed with the professionalism of the Encore team and can clearly see how they have earned a reputation for being one of the best Private Equity houses in the industry.”
Alan Wilson
Chairman - TSC
“Encore has been a fantastic partner over the past five years and helped professionalise our business among other improvements. They have always been approachable and straightforward without being overly casual. I describe them as professional with a human touch.”
Keith Churchill
Managing Director – Forward Valeting