UK / Ireland
UK - IMAC invests £7.5m in QobliQ
Ingenious Media Active Capital Ltd (IMAC) has invested up to £7.5m in start-up company QobliQ Ltd. Qobliq was formed with the aim of creating an international innovative marketing services group, combining sponsorship, digital and experiential marketing.
UK - Matrix realises 2.5x from cake exit
Matrix Private Equity Partners has realised 2.5x its original investment through the sale of Ministry of Cake to the Greencore Group, for £12m. The exit sees Matrix, which invested through three of its VCTs, receive £5m in cash from the sale. Over the...
UK - Ynon Kreiz resigns as partner of Balderton
Balderton Capital, the pan-European venture investor, has announced that Ynon Kreiz has resigned as partner. As a consequence of resigning from Balderton Capital, Kreiz also resigns as a director of a number of the firm’s investee companies.
UK - DLA grows team
DLA Piper has appointed Will Rosen as a partner in its corporate group.
UK - Duke Street buys value retailer from BPE for £68.5m
Duke Street Capital (DSC) has backed the £68.5m secondary management buyout of The Original Factory Shop from Barclays Private Equity (BPE). The Original Factory Shop is a value retailer, headquartered in Burnley, Lancashire. It has 84 outlets across...
UK - Darwin Private Equity acquires Maximuscle for £75m from Piper
Darwin Private Equity has completed its first transaction with the £75m acquisition of sports nutrition company Maximuscle from Piper Private Equity. nabCapital provided acquisition finance to the deal alongside Royal Bank of Scotland and CapitalSource....
UK - Nova Capital Management expands team
Nova Capital Management has appointed Adam Robson to its portfolio management team as an operating partner. He joins from Molins Plc where he was an executive board member responsible as managing director for two of its divisions in Scientific Services...
UK - Dunedin exits Trafficlink in £16.5m deal
Dunedin has sold Trafficlink, a distributor of traffic and travel data to ITIS Holdings Plc for £16.5m. The deal has generated a money multiple of 3x on Dunedin's seven year investment. Trafficlink's information reaches 42 million people each week with...
UK - Apax changes address in London
Apax Partners London is changing its London address. From 27 December 2007 its new contact details will be as follows: 33 Jermyn Street London SW1Y 6DN Tel: +44 (0)20 7872 6300
UK - Barclays Ventures completes £15m training services MBO
Barclays Ventures has completed the £15m management buyout of Develop Training (Develop), a leading provider of training services to the utility sector. HSBC Leveraged Finance provided acquisition debt facilities. The deal represents Barclays Ventures'...
UK - Gresham scoops 4x on Warings exit
Gresham Private Equity has scooped returns of 4x from the sale of building contractor Warings. The Portsmouth-based business has been acquired by French Group, Bouygues Construction. Gresham invested £3m to support the £12m management buyout of Warings...
UK - Close Brothers Corporate Finance strengthens team
Close Brothers, the independent European corporate finance house, has appointed Jonathan Broome and Nuala Higgins. Broome joins the European Debt Advisory Group as a Director to advise companies on all aspects of raising debt. He is rejoining Close Brothers...
UK - ECI appoints new investor relations manager
ECI Partners has appointed Jeremy Lytle as investor relations manager. Lytle will be responsible for investor relations, acting as a main point of contact for investors, as well as leading future fundraising with ECI’s investment committee.
IRELAND - Claret Capital invests EUR 21m in private jet start-up
Dublin-based Claret Capital has led a EUR 21m funding round for JetBird, a private jet start-up that intends to fly to 75 European airports.
UK - Exponent acquires Radley handbags from Phoenix in £130m deal
Exponent Private Equity has acquired Radley + Co, the ladies handbag and accessories brand, from Phoenix Private Equity in a £130m secondary buyout deal. Radley + Co’s revenues are expected to exceed £60m in the year to end of April 2008 and have...
UK - Barclays Ventures leads £10m+ BIMBO of environmental businesses
Barclays Ventures has backed the £10m+ BIMBO of two environmentally-driven businesses, Solar Home Energy and Warmroof. Both businesses are headquartered in Bournemouth, but operate nationally. The combined turnover of the two companies is around £20m...
UK - Gresham completes fourth deal in two months
Gresham Private Equity has completed its fourth deal in two months. Gresham has invested £21m in Hotter Shoes, a Lancashire-based manufacturer and multi-channel retailer of shoes. Hotter generates sales of £38m per year and aims to double its turnover...
UK - Candover and First Reserve close in on Abbot
Candover and First Reserve are still fighting it out for oil services business Abbot Group. US-based energy specialist investor First Reserve is believed to be in the lead with a 390p per share offer, compared to Candover's 370p per share offer. A 390p...
UK - Investec sees 45% IRR from Plastics Capital IPO
Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance has exited its minority shareholding in Plastics Capital generating an IRR of 45% on its three year holding period. Plastics Capital, a consolidator of niche plastics products manufacturers, floated on AIM yesterday...
UK - YFM backs TBiConnect with £330,000
YFM Group has invested £330,000 from its South West Ventures Fund into business-to-business eCommerce service TBiConnect.
UK - Advent International completes £523.9m delisting
Advent International has completed the £523.9m acquisition of Domestic & General Group Plc (D&G) following a successful offer for its shares listed on the London Stock Exchange. D&G is the first fully-financed public-to-private transaction announced...
UK - TA Associates pulls Sophos float
TA Associates IT security portfolio company Sophos has decided not to list this week on the London Stock Exchange. The IPO would have valued the business at approximately £325m. TA Associates owns a 20% stake in the company in which it invested £41m...
UK - Biffa rebuffs HgCapital and Montagu again
Biffa has rejected a second offer pitched at 330p per share from suitors HgCapital and Montagu Private Equity. The waste disposal company has been in the sights of the bidding consortium since early September. The latest offer values the business at £1.2bn....
UK - Graphite backs £100m secondary buyout of Alexander Mann
Graphite Capital has backed the £100m secondary management buyout of Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS) from Advent International. AMS is a provider of recruitment process outsourcing solutions to blue-chip companies worldwide. Graphite invested £50m in...