UK - BVCA and TUC attend roundtable talks

At the invitation of TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber, this morning representatives from trade unions and the BVCA met for a roundtable discussion at Congress House. At the invitation of the BVCA, another meeting is planned for the autumn. The tone of the meeting was positive and while there is much ground still to be covered, both parties believe a good start has been made. Since February this year, when CVC launched a bid for supermarket chain Sainsbury's, the private equity industry in the UK has been under intense pressure from trade unions. The unions had their interest piqued by redundancies at the AA, owned by CVC and Permira and now merged with Saga, and Birds Eye, the Permira portfolio company.