News/UK / Ireland
UK - RJD Partners makes new appointments to investment team
Mid-market private equity house RJD Partners has strengthened its investment team with the appointment of James Smallridge and Jill Williams.
UK - AIM-listed Huveaux is private equity target
Huveaux, a specialist media company listed on AIM, has received a number of approaches from private equity groups. The London-based business focuses on e-learning and e-based information and communication services publishing 16 magazines and holding 500...
UK - Foresight hires new portfolio managers
Foresight Group has appointed Russell Healey and James Livingston as portfolio managers. Both Healey and Livingston will be responsible for managing a range of the firm's existing investments from the current portfolio of around 50 companies spanning...
UK - SVG Advisers appoints new directors
SVG Advisers, the private equity and fund management subsidiary of SVG Capital, has announced the appointment of James Witter and Sharad Rathke as directors.
UK - Beringea invests £2m in Imagesgate
Beringea Ltd has invested £2m in Imagesgate, a company which provides royalty fee and stock managed photography images and other bespoke image services.
UK - UNQUOTE AWARDS SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED
unquote" is delighted to announce the shortlist for the unquote" Private Equity Awards 2007. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony being held on 28 November at The Royal Horticultural Halls in London, SW1P. Now in its third year, the event...
UK - Catapult leads £1.2m investment in Synchro
Catapult Venture Managers Ltd has led a £1.2m investment into software developers Synchro Ltd.
UK - Kaupthing acquires DLG from Promethean for £75m
Kaupthing Capital Partners has acquired consumer lifestyle database business Data Locator Group (DLG) for £75m. The deal represents an exit for Promethean Investments, which backed the £23.5m management buyout of DLG in March 2006. DLG has since grown...
UK - Octopus and Foresight see 4.4x return on Covion exit
Octopus Private Equity and Foresight Group have seen a 4.4x return from the sale of facilities infrastructure service business Covion. Trade buyer Balfour Beatty Group Ltd acquired Covion for £33m ending Octopus and Foresight's two year ownership of...
UK - Zeus completes £50m first investment
Zeus Private Equity has completed the first investment from its maiden fund, investing more than £50m in a new platform company to carry out a buy-and-build strategy within the UK regional hotel sector.
UK - The Capital Fund backs Biocontrol with £500,000
The Capital Fund has invested £250,000 as part of a £500,000 funding round in Biocontrol. Biocontrol's research focuses on developing the clinical use of bacteriophages, that is naturally occuring viruses, which attack and destroy harmful bacteria.
UK - Oxford Capital Partners leads £1.58m investment in Green Biologics
Oxford Capital Partners has led a £1.58m funding round in Green Biologics, a specialist developer of 'next generation' biofuels.
UK - YFM invests in Dynmark
In a second round of funding, the South West Ventures Fund, managed by the YFM Group, has made an undisclosed investment in Dynmark International Ltd, a mobile phone messaging applications developer.
UK - CLB strengthens corporate finance team
London-based accountancy firm CLB Littlejohn Frazer has announced the appointment of Odhran Dodd to its corporate finance team.
UK - Sovereign completes portfolio acquisition
Sovereign Capital portfolio company Kinetics Group has completed the acquisition of Walmotts Ltd, a gas, oil and electrical installation and maintenance services provider, for an undisclosed sum.
UK - Lion Capital to scrap Wagamama float
Lion Capital is understood to have scrapped its plans to float noodle bar Wagamama in favour of a sale of the business. Lion Capital has received written confirmation from a number of interested parties offering to pay more than the IPO's £225m target...
UK - Carbon Connections to invest £3m in carbon reduction projects
Carbon Connections, a research centre for environmental sciences based at the University of East Anglia, is to invest £3m from the government's Higher Education Innovation Fund to finance carbon reduction project partnerships between UK education institutions...
UK - GMT appoints industry advisor
GMT Communications Partners, a private equity group focused on the communications sector, has announced the appointment of Natalie Tydeman as an industry advisor.
UK - Bridgepoint appoints dean of INSEAD to European advisory committee
Bridgepoint Capital has appointed J. Frank Brown, the dean of INSEAD, to its European advisory committee.
UK - Close Ventures makes £2.1m investment in Resort Hoppa
Close Ventures has completed an investment of £2.1m into travel company Resorthoppa Group Ltd (formerly Gardenswitch Ltd), a provider of airport transfers for holiday makers. Close Ventures takes a minority stake in the business.
UK - Barclays appoints Walsh from Morgan Stanley
Barclays Capital has appointed Ramon Walsh as director of its leveraged finance sponsor origination team.
UK - BOSIF appoints new Scottish director
Bank of Scotland Corporate's Integrated Finance division has appointed John Duncan as regional director in Scotland.
UK - Gresham backs £110m+ SBO of Betts
Gresham Private Equity has backed the secondary buyout of toothpaste tube manufacturer Betts Global Ltd from Permira, Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of Scotland in a deal with a total funding package in excess of £110m. CIT Capital Finance has arranged...
UK - AAC acquires majority stake in publisher Ocean Media
AAC Capital Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Ocean Media Limited, the magazine publisher and exhibition organiser, from its current management team and institutional backers led by the Dublin-based private equity firm, Ion Equity. Completion...