UK / Ireland
UK consumer sector exits at record levels
The number of UK consumer goods assets divested by private equity firms is at its highest level in 10 years despite the continued desolation suffered by the consumer market.
VC-backed Just-Eat hints at future IPO
Online food delivery service Just-Eat, which is backed by a number of venture capital firms, has confirmed its plans to list on the stock market in the future.
Redpoint leads $7m round for Moogsoft
Redpoint Ventures has led a $7m series-A funding round for London-based service management software company Moogsoft.
BGF invests £6m in Petrotechnics
The Business Growth Fund (BGF) has backed Aberdeen-based Petrotechnics, a provider of software solutions for risk management in hazardous industries, with a £6m investment.
Beringea exits Fjord
Beringea has sold service design consultancy Fjord to management technology outsourcing and consulting service provider Accenture Interactive.
Graphite sells Dominion Gas to Praxair
Graphite Capital has sold Aberdeen-based oil field services company Dominion Gas to NYSE-listed Praxair.
Metastudy: Private equity drives innovation and growth
A new secondary research report has found that private equity investing leads to increased foreign investment and improvements in innovation.
FF&P appoints Joy as senior adviser
International wealth manager Fleming Family & Partners (FF&P) has appointed Andrew Joy as a senior adviser.
Catapult makes follow-up investment in RTS
The Catapult Growth Fund has made a follow-up investment into wind turbine service provider Renewable Technical Services (RTS).
Value of UK early-stage investments holds steady
UK early-stage deal numbers are dropping off, but the total value invested has held steady over the last four years.
Fountain Healthcare backs €9.2m Trino Therapeutics round
Fountain Healthcare Partners has invested in a €9.2m series-A funding round for Ireland-based Trino Therapeutics Ltd, alongside British grant-giving body Wellcome Trust.
PineBridge's Calo joins Blackstone’s Park Hill
Blackstone's placement agent division Park Hill Group has appointed Pablo Calo from PineBridge Investments.
Octopus leads £2.95m investment in Conversocial
Octopus has led a £2.95m investment round for social media management software company Conversocial.
Equistone reviews options for Allied Glass
Equistone has hired Rothschild to assess its options for Allied Glass, which could result in a sale later on this year.
LDC backs MBO of Node4
LDC has backed the management buyout of UK-based IT and communications services provider Node4 Ltd.
Private equity tempted by Hotel Chocolat
Private equity houses are in talks with confectioner Hotel Chocolat regarding a possible purchase, which could see the company valued at around £100m.
British Gas leads £7m investment in 4energy
British Gas has led a £7m investment in 4energy alongside existing investors Environmental Technologies Fund (ETF), Carbon Trust Investments and Catapult Venture Managers.
ACT et al. invest $5.2m in Cubic Telecom
ACT Venture Capital, Enterprise Ireland, TPS Investments and US telecoms giant Qualcomm have jointly invested $5.2m in Dublin-based global connectivity specialist Cubic Telecom.
3i to buy Barclays’ infrastructure fund management business
3i has made a binding offer to buy Barclays’ European infrastructure fund management business.
The importance of being European
EU membership
EU postpones Solvency II rules on pensions
The European Commission has postponed a bid to apply Solvency II style rules to pension funds as part of the revised IORP Directive.
Blackstone, Carlyle targeted by Stop G8 protests
Anti-capitalism protest group Stop G8 has publicised the London addresses of several private equity firms – including Blackstone, Carlyle and Lion Capital – ahead of the G8 Summit in June.
Maven, Connection reap 1.8x on Atlantic Foods sale
Maven Capital Partners and Connection Capital have sold their stake in Atlantic Foods Group to Flagship Food Group LLC, a US trade buyer.
Ares hires former Blair adviser
Ares Management has appointed former Tony Blair adviser Charles Steel as managing director, heading up the fund's European private equity operations.