Tempest PE expands Sri Lanka portfolio and completes maiden overseas advisory mandate

Tempest PE Partners (TPE), a Colombo based private equity firm that takes a hands-on approach to investing into, advising and scaling businesses, has announced the close of three new transactions over recent months, spanning sectors as varied as enterprise software, leisure and smart warehousing. The transactions reflect both the breadth of the firm’s investment strategy and its growing regional presence.

Acentura: Building a platform for international growth

In early January, Tempest led an investor consortium to acquire a significant minority stake in Acentura, a systems implementation and staff augmentation company with an established footprint in the Sri Lanka and select overseas markets.

Acentura holds regional representative rights for a range of enterprise software platforms, including SAP, Relex and Acumatica, which it implements and supports for businesses across industries. The company’s model of combining specialist regional representation with the cross-selling of a broader suite of services at competitive price points has made it a compelling proposition for clients and investors alike.

Going forward, Acentura intends to expand its services into overseas markets whilst continuing to execute on its growing local pipeline. Tempest will work alongside the company to identify and connect with potential sales partners internationally, while focusing on budget management, financial planning and the monitoring of key performance indicators to ensure the expansion is measured and sustainable.

“Over the past six years, Acentura has delivered sustained high growth by combining deep industry expertise with a relentless focus on customer outcomes. Our partnership with Tempest PE Partners is about accelerating that momentum, bringing stronger governance, strategic capital, and the experience needed to expand into new markets, new service lines, and larger enterprise opportunities,” highlighted Acentura Founder/CEO Chandana Ranasinghe. 

Grand Surf Midigama: Unique leisure opportunity leveraging off deep beach club and surf culture

In March, Tempest structured an investor group to acquire a majority stake in The Grand Surf Hotel, a beach club and luxury chalets development in the south of Sri Lanka that is expected to open its doors on a staggered basis between April and August.

The project has been in development for some time, with Tempest’s involvement covering high-level debt negotiations and restructuring, on-site project tracking and putting in a strong management structure in place for two distinct beach club and boutique hotel operations. The property itself offers a combination of characteristics that are difficult to replicate: its location down south, a plot size that allows for meaningful development, and a parallel orientation to 120 metres of beach stretch running alongside the whole property.

“Working with Tempest helped scale and structure the project to its fullest potential. It is a truly unique concept in a special location and we hope to elevate Sri Lankan hospitality as a whole, while also presenting a successful hospitality business model” said Grand Surf Director/Founder Dmitri Jayasuriya.

The timing of the project coincides with a period of structural change in Sri Lanka’s beach club and tourism sector, particularly along the southern coast. As that market continues to attract both local and international visitors, a well-positioned property stands to capture a meaningful share of that demand.

PTT Synergy: Tapping into ASEAN’s supply chain shift

The third transaction marks Tempest’s first move overseas focusing on raising institutional investment in Malaysian public equities. Working with other Malaysian partners, Tempest raised 30 million Malaysian ringgit for PTT Synergy, a Bursa Malaysia listed company that provides smart warehousing solutions and has traditionally been a leader in earthworks and industrial building construction.

The investment case for PTT Synergy is tied closely to Malaysia’s role as a central distribution hub for the broader ASEAN region and a sizeable trading nation where total trade was around $ 750 billion in 2025. The country’s combination of infrastructure, cost competitiveness and geographic position gives it structural advantages over many of its regional peers. Against this backdrop, while traditional warehousing capacity has grown strongly in the past few years, the penetration of smart warehousing is relatively low. Providing a strategic business pivot for the company to fill a significant gap in the logistics supply chain in Malaysia and the ASEAN region.

Tempest’s role with PTT Synergy goes beyond the initial fund raising. The firm will work with management to develop a set of non-financial KPIs, build out investor relations to increase equity coverage, work with its partners on the company’s numerous funding requirements (as PTT expands from just one smart warehouse at the end of 2025 to 15-20 in the next 3-4 years).  Thereby making the case for a re-rating of the company from a construction multiple to a logistics based multiple, which would more accurately reflect the diversification of the Group. The firm will also leverage its networks to support further growth and serve as the primary point of contact for sell-side and buy-side analysts.

The macro backdrop provides a tailwind: trade diversion, supply chain disruption and the rise of intra-regional commerce across ASEAN are all themes that support demand for the kind of infrastructure PTT Synergy provides.

Pattern of active involvement

“We are pleased to have completed our first advisory and fund-raising activity in Malaysia, where we see strong opportunities to help mid-sized companies raise their profile and tap capital markets” said Tempest Managing Director Chehan Perera. 

In relation to the Sri Lanka investments, Perera added, “We were particularly impressed by Acentura’s management team and what they have built in a short period - the company is well-positioned to scale as it expands into new markets and develop customized industry solutions. On Grand Surf, we have long sought exposure to the leisure sector, and this opportunity in a prime location has the potential to be truly transformative for Sri Lanka–much in the way beach club culture has defined destinations like Bali.”

Across all three transactions, a common thread runs through Tempest’s approach. Rather than taking a passive position, the firm embeds itself in the businesses it backs, setting clear targets and timelines, and holding itself along with the management of its portfolio companies accountable to outcomes. Exit horizons are typically set between three and five years, through trade sales, IPOs or management buyouts, giving the firm a defined window within which to create and realize value.