UK / Ireland
Puma launches EIS fund
Puma Investments has launched its first EIS-focused fund, Puma EIS.
NVM appoints May
Liam May, NVM Private Equity
PE-backed Caffè Nero in £275m refinancing
Hutton Collins-backed Caffè Nero, a UK-based coffee shop chain, has completed a £275m refinancing comprising senior and mezzanine debt.
Latham hires Weil PE partner Benson
Latham & Watkins has made another foray into the UK private equity market with the recruitment of Weil Gotshal & Manges partner Nick Benson.
Have your say: UK Watch
With 2013 now behind us and market participants gearing up for a busy 2014, where do you see the UK market heading in the coming months?
Seventure raises €62m towards new life sciences fund
French GP Seventure Partners has held a first close on €62m for Health for Life Capital, a new vehicle with a €120m target.
Cook joins YFM as COO
Paul Cook, YFM Equity Partners
Baird commits £10.1m to Watkins Hire
Baird Capital has invested £10.1m in Watkins Hire, a provider of heating and cooling equipment rental services, in exchange for a controlling stake.
Inflexion reaps 3.5x on Optionis exit
Inflexion Private Equity has sold employment services company Optionis to MML Capital, realising a 3.5x multiple on its original investment.
TA Associates promotes two in London
TA Associates has promoted two of its London-based employees, Christopher Parker and Dietrich Hauptmeier, to the roles of managing director and principal respectively.
Mutual understanding: Private equity and the UK government
PE and the State
Hogan Lovells promotes Woodhouse to partner
Keith Woodhouse, Hogan Lovells
LPFA appoints Martin as CEO
Susan Martin, LPFA
Isis sells Kafevend to Eden Springs
Isis Equity Partners has sold Kafevend to Eden Springs, reaping a 2.5x multiple and an IRR of 13.8% for the Baronsmead VCTs.
Beechbrook backs Simply Biz and N-Sea
Beechbrook Capital has made two new mezzanine investments via its second fund, backing support services business Simply Biz and sub-sea infrastructure services provider N-Sea.
August Equity hits £200m hard-cap for Fund III
UK lower-mid-market investor August Equity has exceeded its £180m target to reach the £200m hard-cap for its latest vehicle August Equity Partners III.
Bowmark raises £375m
Bowmark Capital has hit its hard-cap of £375m for its latest fund, surpassing its initial £350m target.
Imperial increases investment in TopiVert
Imperial Innovations has injected a further £4.5m into existing portfolio company TopiVert, a UK-based developer of treatments for inflammatory eye and gut diseases.
Enterprise Ireland et al. back Metabolomic
Enterprise Ireland, SOSVentures and the AIB Seed Capital Fund have injected €750,000 into the series-A funding round of Ireland-based Metabolomic Diagnostics.
Envestors pumps £900,000 into NRG
Envestors has led a £900,000 funding round for value-focused health and fitness chain NRG Gym.
Regulators still missing the mark
Almost half of financial service professionals do not believe that any national regulator has managed to strike the correct balance for investors and growth, according to a global survey by Kinetic Partners.
News Corp pays €18m to boost video efforts
News Corp has bought Storyful, a Dublin-based social news agency backed by investors including ACT Venture Capital, for €18m.
BGF signs Thames Card Technology deal
The Business Growth Fund (BGF) has committed £3.2m to Essex-based plastic card manufacturer Thames Card Technology (TCT).