Weekly round-up: the steady rise of VCTs

In the 2013/14 tax year, the VCT industry raised £435.7m, an 8% increase on the previous year. Mark Wignall from Mobeus Equity Partners, Andrew Garside from Baronsmead and Tim Levett from NVM Private Equity discussed the latest VCT trends in an exclusive video with unquote's Alice Murray. The trio analysed the potential impact of this fresh chunk of capital on competition levels in the UK lower mid-market and discussed the HMRC's handling of VCT managers after the recent removal of Oxford Technology's VCT status.

Acting editor Greg Gille looked back over Ardian's ownership of food ingredients maker Diana, which was sold to Germany-based Symrise for €1.3bn. Plans to divest the asset began a year ago, and quickly became one of the most hotly anticipated exits at the larger end of the French market. Having bought the asset from Motion Equity Partners - which enjoyed returns of more than 4x money and 60% IRR at the time - Ardian embarked upon a restructuring phase and an aggressive acquisitive strategy. At 14x EBITDA, the trade sale to Symrise is one of the largest seen in France in recent years - the last time private equity-backed businesses went to a corporate buyer for a higher enterprise value was in 2011.

Changes are afoot in the Luxembourg fund market. Ellie Pullen reported on the attractiveness of Luxembourg-domiciled vehicles and developments in LP bases, driven by the increasing wealth of high-net-worth individuals. But despite being a welcome addition to the LP pool, commitments from individuals could lead to challenging tax structures. "By investing in a private equity fund, individuals give away control over how their capital is invested, but the tax consequences can still come back to haunt them due to the tax-transparent nature of those limited partnerships. And they have to keep an eye not just on the tax in their home jurisdiction, but on the potential tax consequences in all the jurisdictions in which a fund invests," said Withers partner Ceri Vokes.

In the aftermath of Nordic Capital's high-profile carried interest court case, the Nordic private equity community is increasingly looking at onshore fund structures. Andrew Brizell, head of Aztec's new Stockholm office, spoke to unquote" about developments in fund structuring in the Swedish industry. "The general sentiment seems to be that both managers and investors are more aware of where funds are based now and that onshore structures are being considered as an option," explained Brizell, highlighting the impact of the recent carried interest case and the implications of the AIFMD's potential marketing advantages.

After a tumultuous year, sentiment is changing in Nordic private equity. Ahead of the 10th Nordic unquote" Private Equity Congress in Stockholm on 13 May, we are inviting our readers to share their view on the local industry; make sure you have your say here.

That's all from me this week but if you have any comments on this week's analysis, please send your thoughts to amy.king@incisivemedia.com.

You can continue to follow me and the rest of the unquote" team via @unquotenews for all the latest private equity and venture capital updates, and of course on unquote.com.

Amy King
Senior Reporter, unquote"

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