UK / Ireland
BGF-backed Xercise4Less prepares for administration
Gym chain recorded losses of £10.4m on £40m revenues in the most recently available accounting year
LDC invests in Aker
Tom Burnet, currently a non-executive director for BMO Private Equity Trust, will join Aker Systems
Campbell Lutyens promotes Patel to partner
Placement agent has also promoted Vincent Ragosta to principal in its New York office
UK fundraising update: pausing for breath
A number of GPs that closed more than three years ago have delayed fresh fundraises, or have altogether decided to explore new options
Planet First Partners acquires stake in Polymateria for €16.5m
Polymateria is expected to reach sales of €33m in 2021, according to a report
TowerBrook acquires Azzurri in £70m deal
Azzurri owns the ASK Italian, Zizzi and Coco di Mama chains and is based in London
Bridgepoint in talks to acquire WSL
Twelve member clubs of WSL, including Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, would also take stakes
CGE acquires Enhesa in debut deal
Founded in 2001, Enhesa is an environmental, health and safety compliance intelligence platform
Newlands, Hermes GPE invest in Capsule
Manchester-based Capsule generates 60% of its sales outside the UK, including 20% in the US
Target Global et al. co-lead £20.5m round for Drover
Target Global is currently investing from is Target Global Early Stage Fund II, which closed on €120m
BGF invests £2.7m in The Paint Shed
Management is planning to create an additional 20 jobs over the next 24 months
Market sentiment improving but dealflow likely to remain bifurcated – Baird
Baird MDs Vinay Ghai and Paul Bail discuss deal-making amid the pandemic and emerging trends for the months ahead
LP platform Titanbay launches
Titanbay has a 1% set up fee for clients and a 0.5% annual maintenance fee
CommerzVentures invests $6m in Concirrus
Company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach
Draper Esprit leads £16.4m in series-C round in Ravelin
Ravelin is a fraud detection technology company that focuses on payment fraud
Milaya in £15m round for Lanistar at £150m valuation
Established in 2019, the London-based company has 45 employees, with plans to triple its headcount
Hony to lose control of PizzaExpress in debt-for-equity swap – report
Many bondholders bought into the restaurant chain in late 2019 as its bonds traded lower
Munich Private Equity closes third buyout fund-of-funds
Mid-cap buyout-focused fund-of-funds closed on €162m and has made 14 of its 20 planned investments
Sandton invests £10m in Nextbase
Sandton's investment will be used to accelerate the implementation of new technologies
Mercia invested £17.5m in 2019/20
Mercia's NVM VCTs raised £38.2m in new capital, while the BBB also allocated an additional £54.3m
LDC’s makes 18 investments in H1 2020
In a half-year update, the firm announced the majority of the deals were completed since March
Unquote Private Equity Podcast: Fundraising engine stalls
This week, the Unquote Podcast examines the fundraising market amid the challenges of Covid-19
HIG hires Meysson as head of European direct lending
Pascal Meysson joins from Alcentra and has previous experience at Deutsche Bank and Charterhouse
Kester-backed Frontier sells business to HIG-backed Vernacare
HIG invested from its Growth Buyout Equity Fund III to acquire Vernacare from Palatine