UK / Ireland
UK - Ingenius invests £824,000 in debut album by The Orange Lights
Ingenius has invested £824,000 to back the debut album by The Orange Lights, a five-piece band formed by Paul Tucker, the ex-Lighthouse Family Songwriter.
UK - NiTech Solutions benefits from £800,000 of second round funding
PUK Ventures has invested £800,000 in mixing technology developer NiTech Solutions.
UK - Sovereign reaps 11.9x return from veterinary services exit
Sovereign Capital has reaped 11.9x its money through the flotation of veterinary services consolidator CVS Group on AIM. The IPO gave CVS a market capitalisation of £105.7m.
UK - Close Growth Capital acquires stake in £26m-turnover Eldapoint
Close Growth Capital has acquired a 30% stake in Eldapoint Ltd, a manufacturer of anti-vandal cabins and a providers of shipping container storage, handling and repair services. The management team retains 70% of the equity. Barclays provided a term loan...
UK - LDC portfolio company appoints new chairman
LDC portfolio company Direct Group, a provider of business process outsourcing services to the insurance sector, has appointed Steve Broughton as chairman.
UK - Graphite trebles its money on Applied Energy exit
Graphite Capital has wholly exited its stake in ventilation, heating and water heating products manufacturer Applied Energy in a trade sale to Glen Dimplex. Graphite is understood to have trebled its money through the exit, the value of which was undisclosed.
EUROPE - Fundraising for corporate venturing reached EUR 412m in 2006
European venture independent fundraising reached EUR 412m in 2006, the highest level since the 2000 boom, according to data collected for EVCA's Corporate Venturing Survey. The industry body released the figures at its 10th annual forum taking place in...
UK - Phoenix-backed Gaucho planning IPO
Phoenix Equity Partners portfolio company Gaucho is scheduled to list next month. The restaurant chain has been owned by Phoenix since August 2006 when it bought it as part of a £55m secondary buyout from Barclays Private Equity. It is anticipated that...
UK - 3i makes £870m indicative bid for listed oil services business
3i is in talks with oil services business Abbot Group about a potential take-private deal. The indicative offer of 375p per share values Abbot at approximately £870m. 3i has been granted limited access to Abbot's books.
UK - Liverpool Seed Fund invests £250,000 in health screening company
The Merseyside Special Investment Fund's Liverpool Seed Fund has completed an investment of £250,000 in health screening company Gemini Biomedical Ltd.
EUROPE - EVCA Venture forum sets out venture strategy
EVCA announced a venture capital Action Plan and 100 days of activities as part of its strategy for European venture, at its 10th Annual Venture Capital Forum, held in Stockholm today. The meeting of venture industry figures from across Europe is the...
UK - Foresight completes £12m BIMBO of Datapath
Foresight Group has backed the BIMBO of Datapath, suppliers of technology for large screen displays, in a deal which values the company at £12m.
UK/US - Denham Capital opens new London office
Denham Capital Management LP, a $2.3bn US private equity fund manager that focuses on energy and commodities, has announced the opening of a new European office in London.
UK - JC Flowers edges closer to Northern Rock
JC Flowers is reported to be a step closer to a possible bid for Northern Rock after it was revealed the US buyout group has £15bn of debt already in place. JC Flowers could begin due diligence on the ailing bank in the coming weeks. Cerberus is also...
UK - BOSIF completes £225m acquisition of Ainscough Crane Hire
Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance (BOSIF) has backed the £225m management buyout of Ainscough Crane Hire Ltd, the UK's market leader in crane hire. The deal, which represents an exit for the founding family owners, sees management take a majority stake...
UK - Palamon Capital Partners appoints new vice president
Palamon Capital Partners has announced the appointment of Braam Verster as vice president. He joins the firm from McKinsey and Company, where he held the position of associate principal in its London private equity practice and worked with both private...
UK - IPO of TA Associates-backed SmartStream pulled
The flotation of SmartStream Technologies, a provider of software to banks, has been abandoned for now. TA Associates acquired SmartStream from 3i in September last year. The IPO had wobbled in previous weeks when market turbulence forced its price to...
UK - IMAC invests $3.2m in online sports network
Ingenious Media Active Capital Ltd (IMAC) has completed an investment of $3.2m in Sportbuzz Ltd, which manages sports online content network Sportingo.com.
UK - Trinity Mirror scraps Midland newspaper auction
The sale of a collection of Midland newspaper titles has been abandoned by vendor Trinity Mirror. Exponent Private Equity was reported to be the front runner for titles such as the Birmingham Post and Coventry Telegraph. It was thought the assets could...
UK - Balderton Capital invests in Top Up TV
Balderton Capital has completed an investment in Top Up TV, the company which operates a pay TV service on Freeview.
UK - Nigel Beer appointed as Hotbed chairman
Nigel Beer has joined Hotbed, the private investor syndicate, as chairman.
UK - LDC appoints new director to London office
LDC has announced the appointment of Peter Brooks as a director in its London office.
UK - Global M&A announces new UK partner
Global M&A, a partnership of independant middle-market investment banking firms, has announced that Noble & Co, the corporate finance advisory and broking subsidiary of Noble Group, will join as UK partner.
UK - Former Clifford Chance managing partner joins Terra Firma
Peter Cornell, former managing partner at Clifford Chance, is reported to be joining Terra Firma as managing director of stakeholder relations.