UK / Ireland
EUROPE - New fund Vitruvian closes on EUR 925m
New middle-market private equity firm, Vitruvian Partners, has closed its maiden fund, Vitruvian Investment Partnership (VIP), on EUR 925m, exceeding its EUR 900m target.
UK - Ingram Forrest makes two new appointments
Ingram Forrest Corporate Finance, the independent corporate finance arm of Barber Harrison & Platt, has announced two new appointments. Don Gray who was previously a corporate finance director in the firm has recently been promoted to partner and John...
UK - Infinity Asset Management clinches three deals
Infinity Asset Management has clinched three investment deals in as many weeks. Infinity, a Manchester-based private equity house which launched in February 2007 with a fund of £20m, has invested undisclosed sums in three UK businesses. These are: construction...
UK - TLcom Capital reaches first close of second fund on EUR 50m
TLcom Capital has reached the first close of its second fund with the backing of IDeA, European Investment Fund, Access Capital Partners and Finlombarda. London-based venture investor TLcom's new fund, TLcom II, held a first close on EUR 50m and is targeting...
UK - H.I.G. backs £25m facilities management deal
HIG Europe, the European affiliate of HIG Capital has invested in Europa Facility Holdings (Europa), a facilities management company, as part of the first step in a buy-and-build strategy. The overall value of the transaction was £25m. As part of this...
UK - Montagu bid for Biffa safe after Terra Firma and Suez pull out
Montagu Private Equity's recommended offer for Biffa, the waste disposal group, is to go ahead uncontested after Terra Firma, which was thought to be preparing a counterbid alongside French utility group Suez, backed away from the deal. The Montagu-consortium...
UK - Charterhouse to acquire Giles from Gresham for £185m
Insurance broker Giles is to be acquired by Charterhouse in a £185m secondary buyout from Gresham Private Equity. Gresham bought Giles in July 2006 in a £45m deal.
UK - Candover poised to acquire stake in Towergate
Candover is in talks with Towergate about acquiring a 25% stake in the company. Candover previously backed Towergate founder Peter Cullum in a management buyout of Economic Insurance in 1994. According to reports, Candover could pay up to £850m for the...
UK - Close Ventures invests £1.5m in Opta Sportsdata
Close Ventures has invested £1.5m into Opta Sportsdata Ltd (trading as Opta), a European provider of sports data and analysis to media companies. The investment will be used to help grow sales in the existing business in the UK and the rest of Europe.
UK - Graphite acquires Kurt Geiger from BPE for £95m
Graphite Capital has acquired shoe retailer Kurt Geiger from Barclays Private Equity (BPE) for £95m. BPE had owned Kurt Geiger since Summer 2005 when it paid £46m for the business. Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland provided a debt package to support...
Voluntary surveys not enough
The Economic Impact of Private Equity in the UK, an annual survey commissioned by the BVCA has just been published. Last year at the Treasury Select Committee hearings, a number of trade union representatives grumbled about the lack of evidence that private...
UK - Parish Capital hires Catherine Lewis La Torre as venture partner
Parish Capital Advisors has expanded its capabilities in Europe with the hiring of Catherine Lewis La Torre. Lewis La Torre, formerly a co-founder of the Finnish fund-of-funds group Proventure, has joined Parish Capital as a venture partner.
UK - Terra Firma and Suez to challenge Montagu takeover of Biffa?
Terra Firma and trade player Suez could mount a last minute takeover bid for waste disposal business Biffa. London-listed Biffa's board recommended a 350p per share offer from Montagu Private Equity and Global Infrastructure Partners earlier this month....
UK - Finance Wales invests £500,000 funding round in pharmaceuticals business
Finance Wales has backed a £500,000 fundraising round for Dee Pharmaceuticals. Dee, based in Wrexham, North Wales, specialises in the sale and marketing of branded prescription pharmaceuticals with particular focus on the misuse of substances of abuse...
UK - Bridgepoint eats up Prêt for £345m and divests Concentric
Bridgepoint has confirmed that it has acquired sandwich chain Prêt A Manger in a deal reported to weigh in at £345m. The investor has also announced that it has sold Concentric, an engineering company it has owned for ten years. Concentric has been...
UK - Graphite portfolio company AMS buys Capital Consulting
Graphite Capital-backed Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS) is buying Capital Consulting, consolidating AMS’ leading position in the European market for recruitment process outsourcing (RPO). AMS is the largest independent provider of RPO solutions to blue-chip...
UK - Endless launches in London
Endless has set up an office in London and appointed Del Huse as its managing director in London to spearhead Endless’s activities in the capital. Huse was formerly a partner with Kroll Corporate Finance in London and before that was with Andersen.