Northern Gritstone, a new investment business focused on university spin-outs in the north of England, has held a first close at £215 million having seen strong interest from investors in its proposition. The company, chaired by Lord Jim O’Neill and led by Chief Executive Duncan Johnson, is expected to begin deploying capital and making its first investments in innovative start-ups over the coming weeks.   Northern Gritstone has attracted funding commitments from a broad and diverse base of investors encompassing local authority pension funds, high net worth individuals, institutional investors and real estate investors active in the tech and science

The Board of Directors of Real Madrid CF has ratified an agreement with Sixth Street, an investment firm with extensive experience in sports and infrastructure, and Legends, a premium experiences company for sports and live venue organisations, with the objective of promoting the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as a venue and a worldwide benchmark for leisure and entertainment. As part of the long-term partnership, Real Madrid will receive approximately €360 million to be invested across any of the Club’s activities. Through this alliance, Sixth Street acquires the right to participate in the operation of certain new businesses of the Santiago Bernabéu

Qmulos, a cybersecurity software and professional services firm, has secured a strategic growth investment from PSG, a growth equity firm partnering with software and technology-enabled services companies to help accelerate their growth. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.    The Qmulos platform enables customers to continuously monitor security controls to meet compliance requirements across a wide spectrum of regulatory frameworks.

Hudl, an industry-leading sports performance analysis company, is to acquire Realtrack Systems in its first acquisition in human performance wearable technology.

An affiliate of global alternative investment firm HIG Capital (HIG) has completed the acquisition of Pixelle Specialty Solutions Holding (Pixelle). Pixelle is a provider of fibre-based specialty solutions in North America and  owns and operates four industry-leading specialty paper mills. Collectively the mills operate 11 paper machines and produce more than one million tons of paper annually.

Clearlake Capital Group is to acquire BBB Industries, a sustainable manufacturer and specialist in the automotive aftermarket. Upon closing the transaction, Clearlake will become majority shareholders of BBB, while genitor Capital will remain as a minority investor.  Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close later this year pending customary closing conditions, have not been disclosed.

Funding Circle, a UK-based small business loan platform, and institutional asset manager Waterfall, have formed a lending partnership that will provide £1 billion of new funding to small businesses. The partnership leverages Funding Circle’s technology and distribution platform to deploy new funding to UK small businesses, continuing Waterfall’s support for UK SMEs. Waterfall will lend through the platform alongside a wide range of investors, including banks, asset management companies, insurance companies, government-backed entities, individuals and funds.

Inriver, a specialist in revenue-driving product information management (PIM), has secured a majority investment from Thomas H Lee Partners (THL), a private equity firm investing in growth companies. Verdane, the European specialist growth equity investor and current inriver shareholder, will retain a significant stake in the Company.  The transaction will include a significant primary capital investment to support inriver’s product development roadmap and significantly expand its presence in North America and Europe, to meet the demands of a high-growth market.

Narrow Gauge Capital (NGC) has completed the acquisition of a majority interest in Inco-Check (IC), a specialist in control and audit services and software for banks, credit unions, and lenders. Supported by NGC’s resources and expertise, the Company’s objective is to bring loan quality and fraud prevention to the foreground in today’s highly competitive mortgage and consumer lending markets.  A consortium of investors led by Ocean Avenue Capital Partners, LP provided equity capital in the transaction alongside Narrow Gauge Capital. 

Marigny Investments, a Denver-based private equity firm, has acquired Victory Supply, a distributor of inmate clothing and detention supplies. Kathy and Evan Trommer, who started the company in 2012, will remain significant owners of Victory Supply.   Greyrock Capital Group provided equity and subordinated debt financing, UMB Bank provided senior debt financing, and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner served as legal counsel for Marigny Investments.