LATEST NEWS

Headway closes €150m secondaries fund

Headway Capital Partners has closed its second private equity secondaries fund above target at €150m.

Friday, 2nd May 2008
Barter steps down at Travers Smith

Phil Sanderson is to take over from Charles Barter as the head of private equity at Travers Smith.

Friday, 2nd May 2008
Bank of Scotland backs IS Pharma

Bank of Scotland Corporate is to provide AIM-listed IS Pharma with a facility worth £8m (€10m) to fund the company’s continued growth and acquisition plans.

Friday, 2nd May 2008
Noble announces final close of second fund with £100m

Noble Fund Managers has announced the close of its second fund, Noble Venture Finance II, with £100m (€126m) of commitments.

Friday, 2nd May 2008
Palamon Capital appoints Gary Pritchard as CFO

Palamon Capital Partners has appointed Gary Pritchard as chief financial officer.

Friday, 2nd May 2008
Seraphim and Oxford Capital invest £2m in Sirigen

Seraphim Capital and Oxford Capital Partners have invested £2m (€2.5m) in Sirigen, which has developed amplification technology for use in the biotech and life sciences sectors.

Friday, 2nd May 2008
Barclays Private Equity backs A Plan Insurance

Barclays Private Equity has backed a management buyout A Plan Insurance, the Oxford-based insurance broker.

Thursday, 1st May 2008
DFJ Esprit-backed Imagine acquires Irish Broadband

DFJ Esprit portfolio company Imagine Communications has acquired Irish Broadband from NTR and Kilsaran Concrete in a €47m deal.

Thursday, 1st May 2008
ECI in £46m I-Level deal

ECI has taken a 60 per cent stake in digital media group IlG digital in a £45.5m (€57m) deal.

Thursday, 1st May 2008
Mercia Technology Seed Fund in £13m second close

The Mercia Technology Seed Fund has announced a second close with £13m (€16m) of commitments after receiving funding from Keele University.

Thursday, 1st May 2008

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

I think what's happened is that the concept of risk-adjusted rate of return has been replaced by what I would call risk-ignored rate of return, and people are substituting yield for credit judgement.

Wilbur Ross

Private equity companies have targeted car parks as a cash cow, taking over £1 billion out of the industry in the last few years

Rob Kelsall, GMB, responsible for car park workers
Queen fails to save Northern Rock 18, 18 Oct 2007 May the Esprit be with you 18, 18 Oct 2007 Flat tax haven 18, 18 Oct 2007 The deer-hunter 18, 18 Oct 2007
Q&A with Simon Walker

The new chief executive of the BVCA has big ambitions for the UK’s venture capital and private equity industry in 2008.


James Caan

As the latest member of the panel on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, serial entrepreneur James Caan is gaining a new perspective on backing businesses.


Mark Fox

As head of communications at the BVCA, Mark Fox has witnessed a period of huge growth in the coverage of private equity – and a summer of unprecedented media attention. 


Wol Kolade

The BVCA has launched a review of its practices amid deep member discontent over the body’s handling of the widespread criticism of the...


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LATEST ISSUE

Leader

A new name, a fresh approach A new name, a fresh approach

Of all the topics covered in this column over the past six years, the overriding issue that demands a definitive answer is “how private should private equity be?”

Top Story

Q&A with Brian Blakemore Q&A with Brian Blakemore

After 20 years shaping one of the few successful captive buyout operations, the man who said “sod this” to an education is stepping down at Barclays Private Equity.

Feature

The Private Equity Awards The Private Equity Awards

The seventh Real Deals/BVCA Private Equity Awards recognised the best that the industry had to offer during 2007.

Comment

The converging market The converging market

Private equity firms should be applauded for trying to increase their product range – but GPs must not hedge their bets.

News Analysis

Scraping the barrel Scraping the barrel

The Environmental Technology Fund’s recent £110m (€139m) close of its maiden fund has highlighted the ever-growing interest in clean technology investment opportunities, with the sector fast cementing its position as the third pillar of the venture world.


Real Deals 1.5.08

SECTOR REPORTS & SUPPLEMENTS