UK unquote
Equistone makes 2.5x on sale of Allied Glass to CBPE
Equistone Partners Europe has sold Allied Glass back to previous owner CBPE Capital in a deal understood to be worth between £120-130m, generating a money multiple in excess of 2.5x.
BGF injects £2.5m into Sub10
The Business Growth Fund (BGF) has invested £2.5m in Devon-based Sub10 Systems.
Seraphim backs Aria
Seraphim Capital has led a $4m funding round for UK-based Aria Networks alongside the UK government’s Capital for Enterprise fund.
Merlin valued at £3.2bn in IPO
Blackstone- and CVC-backed Merlin Entertainments has listed on the London Stock Exchange, with shares priced at £3.15 apiece, valuing the business at £3.2bn.
GCP promotes McDonald to partner
Kirsty McDonald, GCP
Penta’s GRP receives £55m
Global Risk Partners (GRP), backed by Penta Capital, has received £55m in funding to launch as a London market consolidator.
Babson Capital provides mezz for Teachers’ Busy Bees
Babson Capital Europe has provided a mezzanine facility to support the £220m acquisition of UK nursery chain Busy Bees by Teachers’ Private Capital last week.
Permira picks up 3i’s Bestinvest
Listed-firm 3i has sold UK wealth manager Bestinvest to Permira.
Sovereign’s Eden acquires Essential Futures
UK buy-and-build specialist Sovereign Capital has backed the acquisition of Essential Futures by portfolio company Eden.
Cinven’s CPA in dividend recap
Cinven is set to reap a £180m dividend from a refinancing of just more than £600m for its portfolio company CPA Global, a UK-based intellectual property management services provider.
Private equity may bite into MPM pet foods
UK pet food firm MPM Products has hired PwC to explore funding options for the business.
MML raises €125m fund for Ireland
Enterprise Ireland has backed MML Capital Partners as a cornerstone investor in a new fund to back SMEs in Ireland.
Seraphim et al. back Pyreos
Seraphim Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC), the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) and Siemens Technology Accelerator (STA) have invested $4m in Scotland-based Pyreos.
Ippon leads £10m investment in Midatech
Nanomedicines manufacturer Midatech has raised £10m in a funding round led by Geneva-based private equity house Ippon Capital.
Sovereign appoints Barclays Ventures’ Morgan
Jeremy Morgan, Sovereign Capital
LDC invests £22m in Joules
LDC has backed UK-based fashion and homeware retailer Joules with a £22m investment in exchange for a minority stake.
UK plc to overlook Europe
UK plc is to look further overseas, to destinations including the US, India, Brazil and China, for new acquisitions, diminishing a key exit route for European private equity-backed businesses.
Gresham divests Swift
Gresham Private Equity has sold oil & gas recruitment company Swift Technical Group to Wellspring Capital Management.
LDC sells Mountain Warehouse to management
LDC has divested Mountain Warehouse, a UK-based outdoor clothing and equipment retailer, in a management buy-back worth £85m.
Insignia raises £865,000 from Equity Gap et al.
Smart packaging company Insignia Technologies has received £865,000 in a transaction led by Equity Gap.
CurrencyFair raises $2.5m from Frontline Ventures
Irish peer-to-peer foreign exchange CurrencyFair has raised $2.5m from Frontline Ventures and angel investors.
Bridgepoint Development Capital invests in LOC
Bridgepoint Development Capital (BDC) has purchased a minority stake in offshore marine and engineering consultancy LOC.
Cameron unveils plan to name all UK company owners
UK prime minister David Cameron is due to announce plans to release a list of all UK business owners in an effort to crack down on tax evasion at the Open Government Partnership summit today.
Dunedin hires two
UK private equity firm Dunedin has appointed Karan Darrach as financial controller and Andrew Davidson as analyst.