Kris Ring, debt finance equity partner at Goodwin Procter in Santa Monica, on the relationship between PE firms and direct lenders during the pandemic, the ways this downturn has been different to previous downturns, how the upcoming election will impact business in the US, and what a potentially contested election result could mean for market volatility.

Navaid Equity Partners was founded in Fort Lauderdale (pictured), Florida in July this year to invest in quality businesses in solid industries where there’s potential for growth in the underlying business, but where the business is facing some external type of disruption. The firm focuses on small to medium sized businesses with revenue up to USD 500 million in industries with strong fundamentals and future growth potential.

OakNorth Bank is sector-agnostic, focusing mainly on lower mid-market businesses and established property developers/investors, and is active throughout England with offices in London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds and East Anglia.

Texas-based private investment firm Andros Capital Partners closed its energy-focused inaugural investment fund Andros Energy Capital at its USD250 million hard cap last week. Private Equity Wire caught up with founder Phillip A Gayle JR (pictured) to find out about current developments within the energy sector, where the opportunities are and his thoughts on the new normal.

Michael Johnson (pictured) is responsible for continuing to grow and evolve Crestbridge’s overall funds proposition. Here he discusses how Covid has created barriers to private equity fundraising, what challenges GPs are facing going forward beyond Covid and how managers can best position themselves to address these.

Lisya Bahar Manoah (pictured) recently joined Catalyst Investments as a partner, based in Tel Aviv in Israel. The firm was founded in 1999 by Edouard Cukierman, Yair Shamir and Boaz Harel.