United Kingdom

Private equity and venture capital news from the United Kingdom

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• PE firms go through to next round of HobbyCraft auction 15 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Private equity firms are leading the way in the race to acquire UK arts and crafts retailer HobbyCraft, according to reports. UK car parts and bicycle seller Halfords Group had been looking at the company but did not end up submitting a first round bid for the company, leaving private equity to dominate the shortlist of bidders.

• RBS to offload PE fund stakes in secondary market 15 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Royal Bank of Scotland is in talks to sell interests in private equity funds in the secondary market to rid itself of non-core assets and reduce its balance sheet, according to the Financial Times.

• OpenGate Capital picks up French Connection’s Nicole Farhi label 15 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. US private equity firm OpenGate Capital has acquired the Nicole Farhi clothing brand owned by French Connection, as the fashion house moves to close its US stores and restructure.

• KKR, Warner to place break-up bid for EMI 15 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. US private equity firm KKR is preparing to launch a break-up bid with Warner Music for Terra Firma’s EMI, according to the Sunday Times.

• HgCapital launches £50m share placing to fund investments 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. HgCapital Trust, the listed investor of HgCapital funds, has announced the launch of a £50m (€55m) share placement to raise money for investments. The firm placed the shares at 845 pence (€9.3m) per share.

• Advent plans to put Poundland up for sale 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Private equity house Advent International has hired advisers to prepare a potential sale of Poundland to a rival buy-out firm or to a competitor discount retail chain, according to the Financial Times.

• Brown, Sarkozy to discuss EU private equity regulation 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy will try to map out a deal over EU fund regulation reforms, with the UK Prime Minister hoping for a compromise on measures which have been branded protectionist, according to the Financial Times.

• Primary wins auction for HSBC's Amtech Group 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. HSBC Private Equity has sold portfolio company Amtech Group to mid-market investor Primary. The £35m (€38.5m) sale takes the form of a management buy-out, with £15m (€16.5m) in senior debt finance provided by Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets Acquisition Finance.

• EMI chief executive to leave 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Elio Leoni-Sceti, chief executive of troubled record label EMI, is to step down at the end of this month. The turnaround specialist was brought in to head the company in July 2008 by private equity owner Terra Firma, and will be replaced by current non-executive chairman Charles Allen.

• PE firms line up for UK greetings card company 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Permira, Cinven, Summit Partners and Warburg Pincus are among the private equity firms bidding for UK greeting cards retail chain Card Factory in a deal that could fetch £400m (€438.9m), according to reports.

• UK waste management company rejects Carlyle's bid 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Sales talks between US buy-out giant Carlyle and UK private waste treatment company Shanks have broken down after the private equity firm’s 120 pence per share bid was rejected.

• UK state regulator slams performance of government’s SME VC initiative 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. The performance of a flagship scheme by the UK government to make venture investments in small businesses has been slammed by a watchdog. According to the UK Public Accounts Committee, the government’s efforts to stimulate small business development through venture capital investment have performed below expectations, suffering from high management costs and unclear goals.

• PE-backed waste management firm Biffa to sell landfill gas business for £350m 08 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Private equity-backed waste management group Biffa has put its landfill gas business up for sale at a price of £350m (€387m), according to reports.

• HgCapital discusses £150m UK laundry equipment company purchase 08 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. UK private equity firm HgCapital is in exclusive talks to purchase John Laithwaite, a commercial laundry equipment supplier, according to reports. The deal could be worth up to £150m (€165.6m).

• Cath Kidston to sell business to private equity 08 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. UK vintage designer Cath Kidston is in talks with US buy-out firm TA Associates to sell a stake in her retail chain, in a deal that values her business at £100m (€110.8m), according to the Guardian.

• Coller Capital in pole position for HBOS portfolio 08 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. HBOS is lining up the sale of its portfolio of investments, which include Vue cinemas and coffee chain Caffè Nero, with the sale expected to fetch £500m (€555m) – a stark contrast to the portfolio’s peak estimated value of £1.4bn (€1.55bn), according to the Sunday Times.

• Gresham bolts on celebrity management firm 05 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Mid-market firm Gresham Private Equity has grown its share of the UK’s celebrity management sphere with the bolt-on of Michael Kay & Company’s entertainment element, which looks after TV personality Philip Schofield.

• Cipio bags 20 times return from €60m eCircle exit 05 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Growth private equity firm TA Associates has agreed to acquire a majority stake in eCircle, an email marketing service provider, from direct secondaries house Cipio Partners for €60m.

• SVG Capital upbeat as NAV bounces back 04 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. SVG Capital, the UK-based fund of funds, has posted a significant recovery in its net asset value per share for the second half of 2009, following tough times for its investments in buy-out group Permira’s funds.

• Bridgepoint to take Care UK private 04 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. UK mid-market private equity house Bridgepoint is gearing up to take Care UK, a provider of nursing and elderly home care, private in a deal that values the company at £281m (€309.9m).

• BVCA welcomes report into private equity’s role in accelerating low-carbon economy 03 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Climate change is a problem private equity must address, according to the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) as it welcomed a new report published by a collaboration of European investors into how to accelerate investment in a low-carbon economy.

• Fund administrator Augentius appoints managing director for Guernsey 03 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Augentius Fund Administration, a provider of fund administration services to the private equity sector, has appointed Glyn Thomas as managing director of its Guernsey office.

• Barclays PE makes 5.7 times return on £325m skincare company sale 03 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. The private equity arm of UK banking group Barclays has sold skincare system company Deb Group to Charterhouse Capital Partners for £325m (€358.5m). The price tag represents a money multiple of 5.7 times  the mid-market investor’s original investment of £32m (€35.3m).