UK / Ireland
Top Technology Ventures launches £30m vehicle
Top Technology Ventures, the venture capital arm of intellectual property firm IP Group, has launched a £30m venture fund.
Monetising life sciences deals
Life sciences
Linnaeus leads $3m round for M2fx
Linnaeus Capital Partners has led a $3m funding round for UK-based fibre cable protection manufacturer M2fx.
Beechbrook mezzanine fund hits €67m first close
Northern European investor Beechbrook Capital has raised €67m for its latest mezzanine fund at first close.
Altium promotes two
International investment bank Altium has promoted Andy Clarke to director and Elin Sion to assistant director in its Manchester office.
Balderton Capital et al. invest $13.4m in Urturn
Balderton Capital has led a series-A fundraising round of $13.4m for Urturn, a UK social media platform.
Phagenesis expands series-B round to $17m
Phagenisis has extended its series-B funding round to reach $17m.
Beringea invests £1.5m in Monica Vinader
Beringea and private family business The Clark Group have invested £2.5m in high-end jewellery retailer Monica Vinader.
BlueBay reaches €800m final close for Direct Lending Fund
BlueBay Asset Management has held a final close for its Direct Lending Fund after exceeding its initial €500m target.
Kick Sport receives additional investment from Catapult
Midlands-based Catapult Venture Managers has invested £250,000 in UK online martial arts retailer Kick Sport.
Infinity partially exits Positive Cashflow Finance
Infinity Asset Management has partially exited its 2007 investment in invoice finance provider Positive Cashflow Finance through a funding line from RBS Invoice Finance (RBSIF) and NatWest.
OCP Special Situations Fund holds first close at £6m
Oakfield Capital Partners (OCP) has held a first close at £6m for its vehicle Oakfield UK Special Situations Fund, targeting £20m.
Langholm Capital puts Tyrrells up for sale
Private equity firm Langholm Capital has put crisps brand Tyrrells up for sale, according to a source close to the situation.
L Capital and LDC show interest in Joules
LDC and L Capital, the private equity fund of luxury goods giant LVMH, are among investors interested in acquiring a stake in British fashion retailer Joules, according to the Independent.
Oxford Capital et al. in $3m Celoxica round
Oxford Capital Partners has led a $3m funding round for London-based ultra-low latency market data provider Celoxica.
Foresight launches third Solar EIS fund
Foresight Group has launched its Solar EIS 3 fund, with a target of £20m, to follow in the footsteps of its recently closed £30m Solar EIS 2 vehicle.
3i reports 11.5% NAV increase
3i has seen its NAV per share rise 11.5% over the past 12 months, and says it is making significant progress to turn around the business.
Sun-backed Atmosphere goes into administration
Atmosphere Bars and Clubs, a UK-based portfolio company of Sun European Partners, has gone into administration.
NBGI appoints food & drink industry veteran as senior adviser
UK-based NBGI Private Equity has announced the appointment of Tim Kelly – who has previously worked for Hovis, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Guinness Bass Import – as a senior adviser.
AnaCap sells Cabot to JC Flowers
AnaCap Financial Partners has sold Cabot Credit Management (CCM) to JC Flowers in a secondary buyout worth a reported £800m.
Dunedin's Derry to chair ICAEW corporate finance faculty
The ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty has appointed Giles Derry, a partner at Dunedin, as its chairman – marking the first time a private equity professional has held the role.
Valar Ventures leads $6m round for TransferWise
Valar Ventures, which was set up by Facebook’s first outside investor and Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel, has led a $6m series-B funding round for London-based currency exchange site TransferWise.
Connection Capital hires investment director
Connection Capital has appointed Miles Otway as investment director.
CVC-Betfair deal collapses
CVC’s potential takeover of gambling group Betfair has collapsed, with both sides unable to agree on financial terms.