UK / Ireland
UK - Review of private equity for HSBC
Like many of its banking competitors, HSBC is currently reviewing its position on private equity. Although its European private equity arm spun-off as Montagu Private Equity a number of years ago, HSBC retains a number of Asia-focused funds. Earlier this...
UK - European Capital acquires Whitworths from Gresham for £86m
Gresham Private Equity has exited Whitworths through the sale of the business to European Capital in a deal worth £86m. The exit has generated a return of over 6x for Gresham, which acquired the company in a £15m management buyout in 2001.
UK - Yahoo! corporate development executive joins Accel London
Accel Partners has announced that Simon Levene has joined the investment team in the London office. Levene's areas of expertise include internet, infrastructure, software and services.
UK - Primary Capital makes two new appointments
Primary Capital has announced the appointment of two new associates. Brett Corkery has joined from Macquarie Funds Management. He has a bachelor of commerce in finance and econometrics from the University of Sydney and is a chartered financial analyst...
UK - ECI Partners sells Kirker Travel to Kuoni
ECI Partners, has sold Kirker Travel to Kuoni for an undisclosed amount. Kirker is an independent provider of luxury holidays, offering tailor-made itineraries for holidays across 150 destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Far-East and New...
UK - Triago-X appoints head of US Office
Triago-X, the private equity fund secondary transactions specialist, has announced the appointment of Jean-Marc Cuvilly, as head of its US office.
UK - Inventages invests in CMP
Oxford-based allergy specialist CMP Therapeutics Ltd has raised another EUR 1m from Inventages Capital Investments Inc. The funds are part of a Series A round, which saw Inventages invest EUR 1m in the first tranche in December 2005. The company, which...
UK - Enterprise Ventures invests in Yuuguu
Enterprise Ventures has invested £600,000 of series-A financing in Yuuguu Ltd.
UK - Mind Candy announces $7m in funding
Mind Candy, the UK based company behind the Alternative Reality Game (ARG) Perplex City, has raised $7m from Accel Partners and existing investor Index Ventures and NewMedia Spark. The funding comes in advance of a major expansion of new products to be...
UK - Lyceum Capital expands team
Lyceum Capital has expanded its team by appointing two new associate partners - Mark Hall and Rob Gershon. Hall will be responsible for identifying portfolio acquisitions and working with Lyceum’s portfolio companies on business development. He is a...
UK - European Capital set to acquire Whitworths
Dried fruit and nut company Whitworths is reported to be acquired by European Capital over the next week. The deal, expected to be worth around £85m, will see Gresham exit the company it has held since 2001.
UK - Primary sells Rhyme Systems to 3i-Infotech for £28m
Primary Capital has exited management software solutions company Rhyme Systems. The business has been acquired by 3i-Infotech Ltd, a global provider of IT solutions listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, in a deal valued at £28m. The exit represents a...
UK - PAI and Blackstone acquire United Biscuits from Cinven and MidOcean
Cinven and MidOcean Partners have realised their investment in United Biscuits (UB). The UK's largest biscuit supplier, UB also has operations in France, the Netherlands and Belgium and has now been acquired by Blackstone and PAI Partners in a £1.6bn...
UK - Enterprise Ventures invests in Ncapsa Ltd
RisingStars Growth Fund II, the early stage technology fund managed by Enterprise Ventures, has completed its first investment in Yorkshire. Sheffield-based Ncapsa Ltd has received funding from RisingStars.
UK - Noble & Co extends private equity offering
By working with a number of finance boutiques across Europe, Noble & Co, the corporate finance division of investment bank Noble Group, hopes to win more deal mandates in the private equity mid-market. The partners Noble & Co will use are derived from...
UK - SEP syndicate invests $12m in VirtenSys Ltd
A syndicate including Scottish Equity Partners (SEP), Celtic House Venture Partners (CHVP) and GIMV have provided VirtenSys Ltd with $12m of first round funding. VirtenSys is a leading developer in the emerging and fast growing PCI Express IO virtualization...
UK - BDO Stoy Hayward Corporate Finance strengthens its business services sector expertise
BDO Stoy Hayward is strengthening its corporate finance team with business services expertise. Director Christopher Clark joins the lead advisory team from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he has spent the last nine years advising numerous business services...
UK - Abingworth appoints John Heard as general counsel
Abingworth, the life sciences investment group, has announced the appointment of John Heard as general counsel. Heard will be based at the company’s headquarters in London. He joins Abingworth from Intel Capital, the venture capital investment arm of...
UK - 3i invests in Giraffe restaurant chain
3i has invested £10m for a minority stake in the fast growing, family friendly restaurant chain Giraffe, valuing the business at £24m.
UK - Morgan Crucible talks falter, again
In the summer industrial ceramics and defence material maker Morgan Crucible was reported to have received a take-over approach from German trade buyer SGL Carbone. This news was followed by reports that Credit Suisse's private equity arm DLJ Merchant...
UK - YFM invests £1.2m in Blackburn-based manufacturer
YFM Private Equity has invested in specialist manufacturer and supplier of educational and height adjustable furniture, Vari-Tech Ltd. The £1.2m total funding round also included contributions from the Northwest Regional Development Agency.
UK - Hedge fund Boussard & Gavaudan takes stake in Gondola
Boussard & Gavaudan, a hedge fund with a track record of activism, is believed to have built up a 20% stake in Gondola Holdings, the restaurant operator which is the subject of a £560m take-private bid from Cinven.
UK - Bank of Scotland appoints Mark Hammond as head of Integrated Finance
Bank of Scotland Corporate has appointed Mark Hammond as head of Integrated Finance. He is responsible for over 70 experienced buyout transactors based in 7 offices throughout the UK and a portfolio of over 50 investments. Hammond takes over from Donald...
UK - London Seed Capital leads £500,000 investment in Chameleon BioSurfaces
Chameleon BioSurfaces, the polymer coatings company has secured £500,000 of seed funding in an investment round led by London Seed Capital in conjunction with the London Business Angel Network and the London Business Angel EIS Tracker Fund III. Other...