PE firms made GBP10.1 billion of corporate carve-out acquisitions in the UK last year, up from just GBP765 million in 2019 as the Covid-19 pandemic drove more corporates to sell non-core business units, says Mayer Brown, the global law firm. 

Baseimmune, an early-stage UK biotech startup, is combining big data and biological expertise to predict how viruses will change and identify ‘future-proof’ antigens that will form the crucial elements of the next generation of vaccines. 

By Steve Phillips, CFO, and Somil Goyal (pictured, far left with Philips), Investment Lead, at GovGrant – After the turmoil of 2020, there are signs of growing optimism in markets. Accelerating vaccination programmes are feeding investor hopes of a return to normal life and business activity in 2021.

DunPort Capital Management (DunPort) has launched a EUR50 million fund to provide tailored and flexible capital solutions to Irish small and medium sized enterprises whose businesses have been directly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

On-demand fulfilment start-up Cubyn has raised EUR35 million in a funding round led by Eurazeo and Bpifrance Large Venture, with new participation from First Bridge Ventures and Fuse Venture Partners, and follow-on funding from DN Capital, 360 Capital, Bpifrance Smart Cities fund and BNPP Développement.

In this week’s podcast, Private Equity Wire picked the brains of Albright Capital CIO and co-founder John Yonemoto to find out how EM policy makers responded to the pandemic, whether events that unfolded in 2020 have reinforced some of the beliefs LPs might hold regarding EM private markets, and some of the investment risk disparities between developed and emerging markets at the moment.

PE investors expect a ‘U-shaped’ recovery, according to ‘Covid-19 and the world of private equity: optimism in an uncertain environment’, a survey released today by audit firm Mazars, that gauges investor sentiment in the institutional funding market. 

Private equity and venture capital investment will play a crucial role in supporting the UK economy as we begin the recovery from the pandemic, according to a new report.

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) showed extraordinary resilience in 2020 despite the challenges of the pandemic, according to a new survey of VCT managers conducted by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC).

Around two thirds, or 65 per cent, of investors believe the fallout from Covid-19 will be worse in 2021 than it has been this year, according to a recent study by HYCM.