Hughes & Company, a private equity firm focused on lower middle market healthcare software and technology-enabled services companies, announced the closing of its first private equity fund, Hughes Growth Equity Fund I, L.P., at $116 million, exceeding its original target of $100 million.

"In today's environment, companies can raise money, which tends to be the easier part of the equation. Building successful, enduring businesses is much more difficult." said Travis Hughes, Managing Partner and Founder. "We intentionally designed our firm's investment strategy around a smaller pool of committed capital to stay hyper-focused on helping companies eliminate their constraints and maximize growth. We are pleased to have the support of a group of leading institutional investors including several sophisticated family offices, pension funds and insurance companies."

The Hughes & Company investment team is comprised of proven healthcare industry experts, operators and thought leaders, who have demonstrated an ability to achieve substantial growth.

"Our first priority, always, is to support our portfolio companies," said Jim Denny, Managing Partner. "Having built and sold many companies, our entrepreneurial team fully appreciates the highs and lows of growth. It is that mindset that helps us to accelerate growth and unlock value with our partners."

Founded in 2011, Hughes & Company has built a successful pre-Fund portfolio of healthcare software and technology-enabled services companies. Hughes & Company exited its last two pre-Fund portfolio companies in the first half of 2021, including iN2L, which was sold to Vista Equity Partners, and Aperture Health, which was sold to Stone Point Capital.

Hughes & Company made its first investment from the Fund in December 2020 in Azara Healthcare, a leading population health management software provider.