News/UK / Ireland
UK - Enterprise Ventures appoints new investment director
Enterprise Ventures has announced the appointment of Wayne Thomas as investment director.
UK - Fabless semiconductor specialist secures $40m
Amadeus Capital Partners, the technology investor, has led a $40m Series C investment in Icera Inc., a fabless semiconductor company with offices in the UK, France and Japan, which has developed the first wireless soft modem for next generation mobile...
UK - SAV Credit secures £140m funding package
SAV Credit Ltd, a provider of credit cards and financial services products to consumers who are overlooked by mainstream financial services providers, is pleased to announce that it has secured an investment of up to £25m by Electra Private Equity Plc...
UK - Ernst & Young appoints new head of private equity
Simon Perry has been appointed to the new role of global private equity leader at Ernst & Young in a move that underlines the growing interest by professional services firms in the buy-out industry, according to the FT.
UK - University of York and IP2IPO in 25-year agreement
Intellectual property commercialisation company, IP2IPO Group plc, has signed a long-term partnership with the University of York.
UK - GermanCapital makes UK acquisition
Calder Holdings Ltd, the parent company of Calder Group, has been acquired by GermanCapital GmbH and Cognis Capital Partners from Permira. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.
UK - Hg to invest up to £20m in Wind Direct
Hg Capital has agreed to invest up to £20m in Wind Direct over the next three years. HgCapital is making an initial investment of £4.6m with an option to invest a further £15.4m over the next three years.
UK - Hungry octopus buys pizza
Octopus Asset Management has today announced that is has backed the £7m acquisition of Perfect Pizza Ltd from Papa John’s. The investments will come from the Octopus funds Eclipse VCT Plc, Eclipse VCT 2 Plc and Eclipse VCT 3/4 Plc.
UK - Scottish Equity Partners leads £8.5m funding for ip.access
ip.access ltd, a developer of in-building wireless picocell solutions, has announced the conclusion of an £8.5m financing round led by Scottish Equity Partners, including Intel Capital Corporation and Rothschild & Cie Gestion.
UK - Darlington wins Rainmaker award
Christopher Darlington of Hawkpoint Partners has won HgCapital’s Rainmaker of the Year award. During 2005 Darlington completed four deals.
UK - Quadrate completes MBO
Quadrate, a data management software company and creator of innovative solutions that enable businesses to rapidly migrate data to and from SAP, facilitating efficient data management and reporting, has completed an MBO. Funding was raised from a2e Venture...
UK - KCL rebrands as August Capital
Kleinwort Capital Ltd announced today that it will change its name to August Equity, effective immediately. Accompanying the name change is the release of a new company logo, which will begin appearing on the website (www.augustequity.com) and all company...
UK - Northern 2 VCT results show fall in NAV
NVM has recently released the preliminary results of Northern 2 VCT Plc for the year ending 31 January 2006. The reported net asset value per share fell slightly from last year’s figure of 91.0p (re-stated from 89.7p as a result of changes in accounting...
UK - Carlyle to commit £750m to UK real estate
Carlyle is to set up its first UK-only real estate vehicle - with £750m spending power - despite fears from some domestic operators that high returns have become harder to achieve, according to the FT.
UK - Dunedin makes 6x money on Letts Filofax sale
Dunedin Capital Partners, the UK mid-market private equity house, has announced that Letts Filofax Group, the market leading supplier of personal organisers and diaries, has been sold to Phoenix Equity Partners for £45m.
UK - Promethean buys Data Locator Group for £23.5m
Promethean Investments LLP has announced the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Data Locator Group Ltd by an acquisition vehicle, Data Locator Holdings Ltd, for £23.5m. Promethean provided the equity and subordinated debt funding totalling...
FINLAND/UK - VC-backed Ark Therapeutics announces preliminary results
Ark Therapeutics Group Plc has today announced its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2005. In 2005, it was awarded a EUR 2.2m grant by Finnish government to extend gene medicine manufacturing facilities. The company's highlights also...
UK - Rutland Trust reports 2005 results
The Rutland Trust has recently announced its results for 2005. The consolidated net asset value per share at 31 December 2005 was 62.2p (1 January 2005: 50.8p), based on net assets of £121.8m (1 January 2005: £99.6m). The consolidated results showed...
UK - Blackstone makes £205.4m offer for Center Parcs
Forest Bidco, the acquisition vehicle formed by Blackstone, has made a 80 pence-a-share offer for Center Parcs, the short break holiday village operator.
UK - Liverpool healthcare firm raises £750k funding
A Liverpool pharmaceutical company is expanding with a finance package totalling over £750,000 which includes support from Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF).
UK - SVG posts 19.6% increase in NAV
SVG Capital has unveiled its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2005. The portolio has posted strong results driven by significant distributions and write-ups including a 19.6% increase in fully diluted net assets per share to...
UK - Micrima secures £475k from VC syndicate
Micrima Ltd, a spin-out from Bristol University, has received a £150,000 investment from NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts). This is part of a funding round worth £475,000 with co-investment from private investors and...
UK - KCL firm makes new add-on acquisition
Kleinwort Capital Ltd has announced today that portfolio company Healthcare Homes Group Ltd (HHG) has acquired PriMed Group, a privately-owned care and nursing home group based in Suffolk. The acquisition is the fourth successful acquisition made by HHG...
UK - Curvey becomes partner at Duke Street
Duke Street Capital, the independent private equity fund manager, has announced the promotion of Colin Curvey to partner. Curvey joined Duke Street in 1999 and focuses on the consumer goods and insurance sectors.