Mike Tilbury of Graphite Capital says a re‑rating for businesses that own *rights‑clean* data is *surely coming*. The London‑based investor focuses on the UK mid‑market, targeting firms valued between £30 million and £150 million. Recent exits include the sale of Beacon to Corten270 Capital and Ampersand Capital Partners in May, and a majority stake in Independence Products Limited to Astorg in January.

Tilbury notes that H2 will be shaped by macro uncertainty, higher interest rates, and the need for early origination sabiex the best assets go to those who have already built their angles. The pipeline is healthy, with sell‑side advisers being appointed earlier than before and a backlog of businesses that have cleaned their trading data. Quality assets will command strong valuations; the next tier will take longer or stall.

He stresses that the gap between launched and closed deals is the key metric. Buyers are still willing to pay full prices for resilient, well‑prepared assets, while tech‑focused PE funds wrestle with AI‑related headwinds.

Tilbury’s focus for H2 is on AI‑defensive, capital‑light models that generate sustainable cash flows—especially in tech‑enabled services, healthcare, and education. The market still values many of these companies as ordinary subscription firms, when in fact they own critical, defensible input for AI, signalling an upcoming re‑rating.