UK / Ireland
UK - Craig Armour joins LDC's new Scotland office from Penta
LDC has opened its first office in Scotland. The office, located in Edinburgh, will be headed up by Craig Armour. Armour previously spent seven years as a partner at Penta Capital, where he led buyouts in the consumer and business services sectors throughout...
UK - Darryl Cooke leaves DLA for Hill Dickinson
Darryl Cooke has left DLA Piper to join Manchester law firm Hill Dickinson. Cooke has been at DLA for three years, heading up its private equity team for the latter part of his time there. Prior to that he spent over ten years at Addleshaw Goddard establishing...
UK - DIC acquires Alliance Medical for £600m
Dubai International Capital (DIC) has acquired diagnostic imaging service provider Alliance Medical from Bridgepoint for £600m. Dresdner Kleinwort and Bank of Scotland are lead arrangers of the financing for the deal.
On the road to transparency
The Walker report made some valuable recommendations but concerns and questions remain.[QQ]
UK - MMC invests £10m in Neoss
MMC Ventures has made a £10m equity investment in dental implant company Neoss.
UK - Zeus acquires stake in online floral business
Zeus Private Equity (ZPE) has made the second investment from its maiden fund, taking a majority stake in online floral and gift company, Flowers Direct Ltd. ZPE’s investment will allow Flowers Direct to invest further in operational infrastructure...
UK - Virgin Active to float next year
Health and fitness group Virgin Active is due to float next year. Bridgepoint and Permira are both minority shareholders in Virgin Active, the UK's second-largest chain of gyms, following Virgin's acquisition of Holmes Place. Bridgepoint and Permira together...
UK - Delta Two drops bid for Sainsbury
Delta Two has abandoned its attempt to acquire J Sainsburys, the FTSE100 supermarket chain. Qatari investment vehicle Delta Two began preliminary discussions with Sainsbury in July this year making a 600p per share indicative offer for the group. Delta...
UK - Gresham appoints new investment partner
Gresham has appointed James Slipper as investment partner. The move is effective from 3 December 2007.
UK - One Equity submits full bid for Jaguar and Land Rover
One Equity, the private equity arm of JP Morgan, is understood to be one of three groups to have submitted a full bid for Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford decided to sell its UK assets - Jaguar and Land Rover - as part of a move to reduce its debt. Ripplewood,...
UK - Bankinvest and Espirito Santo co-lead £10.4m investment in Atraverda
Denmark-based Bankinvest New Energy Solutions and Portugal-based Espirito Santo Ventures have co-led a £10.4m series-B funding round for Atraverda, an advanced chemicals company.