Why Coogee Capital

About Us

We've spent our careers building businesses. We started Coogee Capital to keep doing that work - this time alongside other founders.

David Baxby, Co-Founder Was global co-CEO of the Virgin Group alongside Richard Branson, and has run businesses including Wesfarmers Industrials in Australia and Global Blue in Europe.

Tom Hardwick, Co-Founder Co-founded Guardian Early Learning Group and grew it into a $500 million national platform - over 100 centres, 3,000 staff, three private equity transactions.

Mark Blackman, Managing Partner Founded Virgin Active health clubs across Australia and Asia, led Sonoma Bakery as CEO, and founded online fitness platform FLOE.

Between us, we've founded, scaled and transitioned businesses worth billions of dollars. The team around us isn't new either - we've worked together across multiple businesses over more than two decades.

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What We Do

We partner with founder-built businesses, bringing real world operating experience and capital to support their next stage of growth.

We have a different approach to private equity. Whatever the ownership structure, our focus is on what happens inside the business after we invest - not just the financial engineering around it.

Whether a founder is staying in, stepping back, or moving on entirely - we build the leadership, governance and systems that make the business work.

Explore a Partnership

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“We bring flexible capital. But we’re also partners, who roll up our sleeves and help our companies get through the growing pains of scaling, by leveraging experience and our vast networks of expertise.”

Tom Hardwick
Co-Founder & Partner

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A smiling man in a blue suit and white shirt standing in front of a cityscape with tall glass buildings.

David Baxby, Co-Founder & Partner

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Tom Hardwick, Co-Founder & Partner

Our Team

Insights

3 March 2026

Boards re-think investor updates as market volatility increases

3 March 2026

As market volatility intensifies and algorithmic trading plays a larger role in price discovery, boards are rethinking how they communicate with investors. Even minor earnings misses can trigger sharp share price reactions, prompting directors to take a more measured approach to guidance and disclosures. Increasingly, investors are seeking evidence of disciplined governance, thoughtful capital allocation and a credible response to technological change - particularly around AI.

Speaking ahead of the AFR Business Summit, David Baxby noted that while the focus is often on listed markets, the underlying imperative applies broadly: companies must balance transparency with realism, and short-term market expectations with long-term strategic positioning.