All Spies
First Reserve
First Reserve has been investing in the energy sector for two decades. As it eyes further expansion, its focus will be on India and China, and not the more fashionable clean tech sector.
Orlando Blooms
Orlando management has come a long way from its origins in a run-down area of Munich in the 1990s. its first fund has delivered a tenfold return so far, and the firm is gearing up to take its second even further.
Beringea
The £101m (€148m) sale of Mergermarket to the Financial Times Group is one of the most successful media and venture capital deals of recent times.
Endless
Just one year after its formation, ENDLESS has already become one of the UK’s most prolific investors. So far, its inaugural year has seen 15 deals and three exits, and the firm shows no sign of slowing in 2007
Esprit Capital Partners
Earlier this year, ESPRIT CAPITAL PARTNERS was formed through that rarest of events: the merger of two venture capitalists – Cazenove and Prelude. The firm is already eyeing its first big deals
Smedvig Capital
Backed by a billionaire Norwegian oil baron, Smedvig Capital is bringing its founder’s big buyout and energy contacts, together with its analytical strength, to the small-deal market
Advent International has achieved its founding ambition of being a truly global investor. Operating on such a scale, its final challenge is to try to retain the “personal touch”
LATEST ISSUE
Leader
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
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 seventh Real Deals/BVCA Private Equity Awards recognised the best that the industry had to offer during 2007.
Comment
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
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.









