News/UK / Ireland
UK - Noble Fund Managers invests £1.5m in Plum Baby
Noble Fund Managers Private Equity has provided organic baby food business Plum Baby with £1.5m of development capital. Noble will take a significant minority stake in the business following the deal. In addition to Noble’s commitment, Octopus Ventures...
UK - Dunedin backs £18m buyout in financial services sector
Dunedin has backed £18m managment buyout of Gissings Advisory Services Ltd (GAS), a financial services business. GAS provides consultancy advice on flexible benefits, private medical insurance, life assurance, permanent health insurance, occupational...
UK/IRELAND - Endless expands into Ireland
Endless is to launch in Ireland. The buyout and turnaround specialist has appointed John Kernohan and Richard Gillan to lead its operations in Ireland. Kernohan has previously represented 3i on the boards of portfolio companies. Gillan has worked for...
UK - Graphite realises 7.6x returns from sale of Huntress to Nomura
Graphite Capital has sold recruitment specialist Huntress Group to Nomura in a secondary management buyout. Graphite achieved total returns of 7.6x the money invested, representing an IRR of 38.5%. The value of the deal was understood to be in the region...
UK - SEP invests £2.5m in Skyscanner
Scottish Equity Partners has invested £2.5m in Skyscanner, a commercial flight search engine. The investment represents Skyscanner's first round of funding.
UK - Oxford Capital Partners leads £1.5m investment into Oxitec
Oxford Capital Partners has led a £1.5m round of funding into Oxitec Ltd, a company which develops pest control solutions that do not use insecticides, alongside exisiting investors East Hill, the University of Oxford and the management team. Oxford...
UK - Deadline for Northern Rock bids approaches
Today marks the deadline for indicative proposals to be put forward by those wishing to buy all or part of Northern Rock, with several private equity firms expected to be among those making an offer for the stricken bank.
UK - DLA Piper hires new US corporate partner
DLA Piper has announced the appointment of Sarah Cebik as a partner in its London corporate group.
UK - ECI sells Bounty for £70m
ECI Partners has agreed to sell Bounty, the UK’s largest parenting club for £70m. The acquirer is Kaboose, the largest independent family-focused online media company in North America. Since funding the management buyout of Bounty in December 2004,...
UK - Phoenix-backed Gaucho scraps IPO
Phoenix Equity Partners portfolio company Gaucho has abandoned its plan to float on the London Stock Exchange. 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...
UK - 3i acquires Agent Provocateur
3i has signed an agreement to acquire Agent Provocateur, the luxury brand lingerie retailer. 3i's funding will enable Agent Provocateur to pursue further growth opportunities. The deal sees both the founders remain as shareholders in the business, with...
UK - Noble Group appoints new directors
Independant UK Investment bank Noble Group has announced the appointment of Stephen Curran and Keith Jones to the board as non-executive directors.
UK - Accel invests in GetJar
Accel Partners has invested an undisclosed sum in GetJar, a mobile application distribution and developer community, in a series-A funding round.
UK - Eden supports Huddle with $4m investment
Eden Ventures has led a series-A $4m funding round for Huddle.net, a provider of social business networks.
UK - AnaCap acquires Apex from BCW Group
AnaCap Financial Partners, the financial services specialist private equity fund, has acquired debt collection company Apex Credit Management Ltd from BCW Group Plc. The deal was structured as a management buy-in led by Neil Clyne.
UK - Hotbed members invest £3.3m to back buyout of DIY supplier
Hotbed, a UK private investor syndicate, has invested £3.3m to back the management buyout of Avocet Hardware. Avocet is a supplier of screws, nails, fixings and general ironmongery products to the UK’s biggest DIY retailers, including B&Q, Focus and...
UK - MSIF invests £200,000 in So Protect Me
The Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF) has invested £200,000 from its Liverpool Seed Fund into card protection software developer So Protect Me.
UK - Buffini made chairman of Permira
Damon Buffini is to move into a new role as chairman of Permira as the buyout house looks to grow its global presence.
UK - Octopus and Aberdeen provide FSP with additional £3.75m
Funeral Services Partnership (FSP) has secured an additional £3.75m of funding from Octopus Investments and Aberdeen Asset Managers Growth Capital. The deal represents the first by Octopus Investments Intermediate Capital team, a specialist mezzanine...
UK - Promethean-backed traded endowment policy business to float
Promthean Investments portfolio company T.I.S. Group has announced its intention to seek a listing on AIM. T.I.S is a UK market leader in traded endowment policies and distributor of institutional funds. As part of the IPO, the group intends to raise...
UK - LDC-backed Epi-V completes its first investment
Specialist oil and gas private equity fund Epi-V has completed its first transaction, investing £3m in Aberdeen-based Brinker Technology. The £50m Epi-V fund was launched in August 2007 with the aim of making equity investments of between £2m and £10m...
UK - 3i appoints Ipreo chairman as senior adviser
3i has announced the appointment of Rosalyn Wilton, chairman of Ipreo LLP, as a senior adviser to its media team.
UK - Arcapita in takeover bid for Peacocks
Arcapita has made an approach to buy the discount fashion retailer Peacocks from its current backers Goldman Sachs and hedge funds Och-Ziff and Perry Capital. The three investors took Peacocks private in December 2005 in a £404m deal.
UK - Generation Investment Management combine with KPCB to fund green business
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and Generation Investment Management (Generation) have announced a global collaboration to find, fund and accelerate green business, technology and policy solutions with the greatest potential to help solve the...