Scarcity Partners

Founding partners Jason Sibthorpe and Adrian Whittingham jointly lead the firm and its investment committee. Sibthorpe previously served as Managing Director at Aviva Investors, while Whittingham held senior distribution and strategy roles at Schroders. Their combined institutional networks anchor deal origination and manager due diligence.

Scarcity does not invest as a limited partner in funds. It originates GP-stake transactions directly with boutique asset management founders, often via proprietary institutional relationships. Because the firm provides permanent equity capital to the management company itself, it competes more with private equity minority-investing strategies than with traditional fund allocators.

No. Scarcity's capital is deployed only into the GP entity, giving it a claim on management fees and carried interest across the entire fund complex. This structure avoids direct portfolio-company risk and the capital-call unpredictability of fund commitments, while capturing enterprise-value appreciation of the asset manager itself.

The firm targets founder-led, high-conviction managers across private equity, real assets, private credit, and listed equities, typically with AUM between A$500 million and A$5 billion. Preferred GPs demonstrate durable fee streams, stable investment teams, and a clear growth trajectory.

The inaugural fund is a closed-end vehicle targeting a portfolio of 8 to 12 GP-stake investments. As of 2024, the firm was actively marketing the fund to institutional investors and family offices and had completed at least one anchor investment, though specific fund size and deployment figures have not been publicly disclosed.

The firm concentrates on Australia and New Zealand as its core market, with a secondary mandate for select Asia-Pacific managers. This regional specialization reflects the founders' institutional relationships and the relatively low penetration of GP-stake M&A in the region compared to the US and Europe.

Scarcity acquires minority, non-control stakes, allowing founders to retain operational independence while gaining partial liquidity and growth capital. The firm typically negotiates governance rights—including board observation or representation—but does not manage the underlying investment teams or strategy.