UK / Ireland
UK - Bridges backs The Gym with £1m
Bridges Ventures has invested a first tranche of £1m in The Gym, a low cost gym provider.
UK - Rutland hires new analyst
Rutland Partners has hired Kajen Mohanadas as an investment analyst.
UK - Phoenix strikes £21.5m Busaba deal
Phoenix Equity Partners has invested in Busaba, a Thai food restaurant chain founded by Alan Yau, the brains behind Wagamama, in a deal that values the company at £21.5m.
EUROPE – EVCA appoints Andreas Schober
The European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EVCA) has appointed Andreas Schober, vice chairman of Germany-based Hannover Finanz, to its supervisory board.
UK - Oxford Capital Partners makes appointment
Oxford Capital Partners has appointed Richard Hoskins as private client services manager.
UK - BVCA report reveals impressive 2007 for UK private equity
The BVCA today released its report on investment activity in 2007, which revealed an increase of more than a third in terms of total investment by UK private equity firms and a substantial rise in cross border transactions.
UK - SEP joins £6.5m Fotech funding round
Scottish Equity Partners, US firm Energy Ventures and Saudi Arabian investor Shoaibi Group have backed energy technology company Fotech group with a £6.5m investment.
The problem with pension funds
With pension liabilities increasing buyouts of pension funds are on the rise, but what are the implications for private equity? By Ashley Wassall
UK - Phoenix completes £95.6m acquisition of Ashtead unit
Phoenix Equity Partners has backed the £95.6m buyout of Ashtead Technology Rentals, provider of rental equipment to the offshore oil and gas sector and the environmental monitoring and testing industry, from Ashtead Plc.
UK - Aberdeen and Core join forces
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital and VCT manager Core Capital have agreed to a tie-up that will see the two teams working together on a formalised basis.
UK - Expro shareholders put Candover deal in doubt
The high court has adjourned a hearing to approve the £1.81bn takeover offer for listed oil services company Expro from a Candover-led private equity consortium following a dramatic intervention by several of the firm's institutional investors and US...
UK - First Reserve launches Torus
First Reserve Corporation, the US-based firm focused on investing in energy related businesses, has provided USD 720m to back the launch of Torus Insurance.
UK - Sole joins Quinn Partnership
Management due diligence firm The Quinn Partnership has recruited former Scotland rugby union captain David Sole.
EUROPE - EVCA publishes study on global scenario for private equity
A new report by the EVCA, Global Scenarios for Private Equity and Venture Capital, presents four potential scenarios for global economic development over the coming decade and the impact these will have on the development of the private equity industry.
UK - 3i acquires Uponor infrastructure unit in £100m deal
3i has acquired Finland-based Uponor Corporation's UK infrastructure unit in a buyout that values the company at £100m.
UK - YFM supports £1.1m Gnodal funding
YFM Group managed South West Ventures Fund has supported Gnodal, a data technology developer, alongside NESTA and private investor Adrian Beecroft in a £1.1m funding round.
EUROPE - Jonathan Russell appointed new EVCA chairman
The board of the EVCA has elected Jonathan Russell, managing partner of buyouts at 3i, as its new chairman for the year 2008-2009.
UK - EVCA final figures show record investment in 2007
The EVCA has released its final figures for private equiity activity in 2007, with the report showing that a record EUR 73.8bn was invested across Europe, EUR 2.6bn higher than in 2006.
UK - USS commits £383m to US buyout fund
The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the UK's second largest pension fund, is planning to commit £383m (USD 750m) to the maiden fund from Boston-based private equity fund-of-funds group Constitution Capital Partners.
UK - Coller and DFJ support early stage technology
Coller Capital, through Coller International Partners V, has injected a further USD 50m into DFJ Esprit II to support the portfolio of LSE-listed investment trust Prelude Trust Plc, which was purchased earlier this month for an initial consideration of...
UK - Aberdeen reaps 4x returns from £43m Brookhouse sale
Aberdeen Asset Managers Private Equity has sold specialist aerospace components company Brookhouse Holdings Ltd to Kaman Corporation for £43m, generating returns of 4x the capital invested.
UK - Somerset CC pension fund issues £30m tender
Somerset County Council pension fund will issue a £30m tender for a private equity fund-of-funds manager.
UK - AFM invests £2.5m in ULive
Alliance Fund Managers (AFM) has invested £2.5m through the Merseyside Special Investment Fund's Liverpool Seed Fund into ULive Plc, a company that commercialises intellectual property generated by the University of Liverpool.
UK - SWFs consider investment in Barclays
Several Sovereign Wealth Funds, among them Singapore's Temasek Holdings and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), are considering backing a share issue by Barclays.