UK / Ireland
VC-backed Bicycle Therapeutics raises £40m series-B
Round is led by new backer Vertex Ventures and includes several existing investors
HgCapital exits The Parts Alliance in £205m trade sale
Sale delivers a 2x investment multiple and 19% gross IRR after five years of ownership
Draper Esprit raises extra £100m
Share placement adds to the £60m already raised in 2017 across EIS, VCT and secondary co-investment fund platforms
InfraVia buys Irish nursing homes operator Carechoice
GP recently closed its third European infrastructure fund, InfraVia European Fund III, on €1bn
HgCapital's A-Plan in £170m refinancing
Refinancing consists mainly of two term loan B facilities worth £98.8m and £66.2m
Endless in £25m Capita recruitment arm carve-out
Affinity Workforce will be the 11th buyout for Endless's fourth fund, closed on £525m
Stirling Square hires ex-Segulah partner Henrik Lif
Lif will join the firm's origination team in London and target the European market
Epiris promotes Wood, Wilson and Gray
Owen Wilson and Ian Wood become investment partners, while Nicola Gray is promoted to investment director
Earlybird, Panakés lead €6m round for Alesi Surgical
Round included existing investors IP Group and state-backed investment firm Finance Wales
Idinvest sells eRepublik via trade sale
Deal sees the GP fully exiting its holding after a nine-year ownership period
FPE to merge newly acquired SGL and Masstech
New company will be run by Masstech's management and will be headquartered in the UK
Maven invests £1.5m in data and graphics startup Ebb3
Funding for the deal will come from Maven Capital Partners's venture capital trusts
EQT closes mid-market fund on €1.6bn hard-cap
Northern Europe-focused vehicle adds to the firm's AUM following the close of its infrastructure fund in February
What the UK's general election could mean for private equity
Britain's looming snap general election on 8 June presents investors with two very different potential outlooks
NVM divests Kirton to NorthEdge's Direct Healthcare
Acquisition of the medical seating company is the second bolt-on made by Direct Healthcare under NorthEdge
LDC exits UK2 Group to The Hut Group
Sale of server and hosting business to the trade buyer follows a six-year holding period
Primary acquires Metamark in £62m MBO
Deal for the sign vinyl and digital printing business is the fifth investment from the GP's fourth fund
Epiris returns £1.5bn to Electra over eight-month period
Recent exits bring to an end Epiris's remit as investment portfolio manager for the listed LP
BGF injects £3m into Prezola
Wedding gift-list platform will invest in its mobile platform following the deal
YFM hires Thomas as investment director
Andy Thomas leaves Maven Capital after four years to join the VC firm's Manchester office
Park Square promotes three to partner, hires two as VP
Sharp, Dennison and Haywood become partner, Wehtje and Bozuwa are appointed vice-presidents
Sioen acquires AAC's James Dewhurst for £44m
AAC had been backing James Dewhurst since 2008, when it acquired a majority stake in the group
Pollen Street Capital to merge with MW Eaglewood
GP will become a majority shareholder in the group, with the deal expected to complete later this year
Cairngorm appoints McGill as investment director
Neil McGill leaves BDO after seven years to join the UK-based private equity firm