UK - Osmond plans to list £500m turnaround vehicle on the LSE

Deborah
11 January 2010

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Financier Hugh Osmond, the man behind private equity firm Sun Capital, is reportedly planning to launch a new £500m investment vehicle on the London Stock Exchange, aimed at investing in big private equity-backed companies that have been crippled by high amounts of debt.

It is understood that the £500m vehicle, to be named Horizon, will be used to front a large takeover deal potentially worth up to £5bn. Rumours are floating that Osmond is considering opportunites along the lines of Gala Coral, backed by private equity firms Permira, Cinven and Candover.

The management fee for the fund will be set at 0.5%. Mike Fairey, the former deputy CEO of Lloyds TSB has been hired as chairman of the investment vehicle, while Terry Eccles, the former investment banker who held positions at Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Cazenove, has been appointed non-executive director.

Osmond is known for making his fortune with restaurant chain Pizza Express. Osmond and Luke Johnson of Risk Capital Partners bought the group for £18m in 1993, listing it on the stock exchange. It was sold ten years later to Gondola Holdings for £279m.

More and more funds raised to invest in distressed businesses are popping up in the industry. Jon Moulton recently listed his turnaround start-up Better Capital on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, raising £142m from investors.