UK / Ireland
UK - Advent Venture backs new home moving web services
Advent Venture Partners and seed investors, The Accelerator Group, have provided new home moving web service Moveme.com with early-stage funding. Moveme.com is a online service which will enable millions of people moving home to save significant time;...
UK - Creative Capital Fund backs performance company with EUR 2.53m
The Creative Capital Fund has led a EUR 2.53m fund-raising for The Creative Experience Company Ltd. The investment was led by Leisure and Media VCT Plc, which is managed by North Atlantic Value LLP, part of the J O Hambro Capital Management Group. The...
UK - FF&P Private Equity backs MBO of insurance broker
FF&P Private Equity has backed the management buyout of RFIB Group Ltd, the international Lloyd's insurance and reinsurance broker from its retired shareholders. The value of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory and other approvals, was not...
UK - Boots bidding war on
A bidding war has broken out for Alliance Boots, the FTSE 100 retail and pharmaceutical group. After KKR upped its offer for Alliance Boots to £10.90 per share in an attempt to see off a rival £10.85 per share bid from Terra Firma, Terra Firma trumpted...
EUROPE - ECB survey says private equity poses limited systemic risk to banking sector
European leveraged buyout activity poses a limited systemic risk to the European banking sector, says a report by the Banking Supervision Committee of the European Central Bank.
EUROPE – US interest in European offers co-invest opportunities but increases valuations
‘The sign of a bubble is when the IPO market goes from push to pull,’ said Gerard Lopez this morning at the Benelux unquote" Private Equity Congress in Luxembourg. The Skype backer explained that valuation levels are increasing and cited the example...
EUROPE – Pipeline of EUR 10bn funds
There is a pipeline of mega funds coming to market in the coming months, according to Stef Oostvogels at law firm Oostvogels Pfister Roemers, speaking at the Benelux unquote" Private Equity Congress in Luxembourg this morning. He indicated that many are...
UK - Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital expands team
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has made three appointments: Andrew Symmonds joins as a portfolio manager within the portfolio management team; Atul Devani joins as a consultant to the South East Growth Capital team and Kimberly Martin joins as...
UK - Macquarie strengthens grip on UK communications sector with £1.9bn Airwave purchase
Macquarie is to acquire Airwave, the telecom network used by UK emergency services, from O2 in a £1.9bn deal. O2 is a subsidiary of Spanish telecom group Telefonica. The purchase by Macquarie was made through its Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund...
UK - General Atlantic to float Xchanging valuing it at £500m
General Atlantic is to float portfolio company Xchanging, an outsourcing and processing portfolio company. The IPO is expected to value the group at approximately £500m with an indicative share price range of 210-240p per share. It is understood that...
UK - Octopus backs novelty confectionary business with £5m of expansion capital
Octopus Investments has backed Sweet Cred Ltd, a branded children’s novelty confectionery business, with £5m expansion capital financing. Octopus was introduced to the deal by Acanthus, a London-based corporate finance firm. Based in Sidcup, Kent,...
UK - Brightstation Ventures backs internet fashion network with £1m
Brightstation Ventures has provided Osoyou.com, an internet-based fashion social network start-up with £1m of funding. The website is due to launch this summer and will compete with the likes of Conde Nast's stylefinder.com.
UK - Aberdeen zooms in on CCTV investment
Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital has backed the BIMBO of Camwatch Ltd, a CCTV monitoring company. Aberdeen and the management team provided equity funding as part of a £6.8m investment package involving debt supplied by Barclays and Royal Bank...
UK - TVM Capital leads EUR 15.26m round for Azea Networks
TVM Capital has led the EUR 15.26m series-D funding round for Azea Networks, a submarine optical network solution specialist. Previous investors Accel Partners and Atlas Venture also participated in the round.
UK - Lion Capital appoints Mary Minnick as partner
Lion Capital has announced that Mary Minnick will be joining the firm as a partner in May. Minnick comes from The Coca-Cola Company where she has been for 23 years, having had world-wide responsibilities in general management, strategy, innovation, marketing,...
UK - Apax-backed Travelex disposes of ATMs in £12.9m deal
Travelex, the non-bank provider of commercial foreign exchange owned by Apax Partners with Standard Chartered Bank is to dispose of its 1,070 surcharging ATMs. The ATMs will be acquired by AIM-listed Cardpoint Plc for a cash consideration of £12.9m.
UK - Endless and NorthStar Equity back pharmaceutical services firm
Endless and North Star Equity Investors have provided pharmaceutical and biotechnology services firm Excelsyn with a seven-figure investment to underpin the company's strategy of becoming a leading provider within the pharmaceutical supply chain.
UK - Research shows £270m of cleantech invesment in Europe in 2006
Investment in cleantech as a whole is increasing – 102 deals were completed in 2006, resulting in over £270m of investment across Europe, with 40% of all European venture-backed cleantech companies located in the UK. However, the findings also reveal...
UK - NVM strengthens its investment team with new appointment
NVM Private Equity has appointed Clive Austin as part of its expanding investment team. In his new role Austin will be covering the North West England. He joins NVM from Catapult Venture Managers where he established its Birmingham office. At Catapult...
IRELAND - JP Morgan to advise Ireland's national pensions reserve fund
JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services has won a mandate to provide property and private equity fund accounting and administrative services for the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF), Ireland’s state pension reserve fund.
UK - Hammonds boosts private equity team with two partnership appointments
Hammonds' private equity practice has appointed two new specialist partners. Tim Hewens and Nick Watson have both been promoted internally to the partnership. Hewens, based in the London office of the law firm, has significant experience in acting for...
EUROPE - unquote'' Benelux Private Equity Congress
unquote” is excited to bring you the second unquote” Benelux Private Equity Congress, on 19 April 2007 in Luxembourg.
GERMANY/UK - Mazars expands into Europe
Financial due diligence provider Mazars has acquired German advisor Hemmelrath and is looking to increase the turnover in Germany to EUR 50m for 2007. Following the acquisition Mazars will now have a significant presence in the Czech Republic, Hungary,...
UK - Hotbed exit from nursing home company generates 31% IRR
Hotbed has achieved an IRR of 31% from an exit from nursing home group Mimosa Healthcare Holdings Ltd. Hotbed has sold its 25% stake in the company, which it acquired in 2005 following a £5.15m investment in two tranches, back to the company and its...