FORWARD FEATURES CALENDAR

Allocations

Corporate gifting company Snappy has secured USD10 million in funding to date, led by 83North with participation from Hearst Ventures. Snappy believes that companies are looking for creative ways to reward employees, but gift cards, paper weights, and other generic corporate gifts don’t make employees feel valued.  Snappy allows employees to choose their favourite gift from a curated collection of personalised options, which include local experiences like cooking and yoga classes, global getaways, as well as trending products like Amazon’s Echo Dot and drones. Gifts are sent via email or text and are sourced from leading brands and retailers, with
Specialist provider of medical devices and equipment, IQ Medical, has received a GBP250,000 funding package through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, WM Debt Finance fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners.   The funding will be used to fuel the development of new, high-performance products – allowing it to diversify its NHS Hospitals and Care Home portfolio and strengthen its sales and marketing team.   IQ Medical provides specialist medical equipment, disinfection services and planned and preventative maintenance to both the NHS and private sectors across the UK. Its cornerstone product is a portfolio of highly-effective and clinically-proven, Pressure Area Care
Dentons has advised KKR-backed Calsonic Kansei on the agreement by its holding company, CK Holdings, to acquire Magneti Marelli, the automotive components business of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Following the closing of the transaction, which is valued at EUR6.2 billion, CK Holdings will be renamed Magneti Marelli CK Holdings and will supply components to Fiat Chrysler through a multi-year agreement. Magneti Marelli’s operational headquarters will remain in Milan, Italy while the existing Calsonic Kansei operational headquarters will remain in Saitama, Japan. The combined businesses will create the world’s seventh largest global independent automotive components supplier based on total revenues. Magneti Marelli
Geoff Cook, Jersey Finance
The latest figures on the size of the finance industry in Jersey show banking deposits are rising and the value of the funds industry is at a record high. The net asset value of regulated funds under administration grew by GBP15 billion during the second quarter of 2018 to stand at GBP296 billion at 30 June 2018, the highest recorded figure to date, while banking deposits are also higher at GBP121.2 billion, the most since March 2016 and GBP5.7 billion higher than in March 2018. The statistics, collated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) and published by Jersey Finance,
Verdant Leisure has acquired ts ninth leisure park. Queensberry Bay Holiday Park & Spa, on the Dumfries and Galloway coastline in south west Scotland is the fifth holiday park purchase in the last 28 months for the bespoke leisure park operator. The purchase brings Verdant Leisure’s portfolio to nine parks across southern Scotland and north east England and marks the fifth bolt-on since the company was backed by Palatine Private Equity in April 2016. This deal will continue the company’s growth strategy to create a strong regional group with significant scale, and Verdant Leisure remains keen to add further parks
Seasoned private equity executives Jeremy Hand, Simon Hitchcock, Luke Kingston, Adam Lewis and Martin Squier have launched a new private equity firm, Horizon Capital a sector-focused investor, targeting Technology and Business Service deals.  The new firm will make equity investments of between GBP10 – GBP50 million in high growth businesses with a particular focus on creating value through buy-and-build strategies.  Horizon last week closed on a new fund, Horizon 2018 – a seven-year investment vehicle which secured GBP200 million of commitments from a group of blue-chip institutional investors led by Pantheon and Idinvest Partners alongside other investors including Lombard Odier,
Foresight Group has, via the Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund, made a GBP1.7 million investment  into FreeFlow Technologies Limited (FreeFlow). FreeFlow is developing a patented e-bike system technology that promises to be lightweight and compact, providing a higher power density than existing solutions. The Company’s novel design will improve the ride experience and bike aesthetics as it can be packaged within the bicycle frame. The company has additionally developed an innovative mechanical transmission system for fixed wheel bikes that allows the rider to freewheel, whilst retaining the smooth ride quality of fixed wheel. As part of the investment, Martin McCourt,
Private capital adviser Campbell Lutyens’ US team has advised on USD18 billion in fundraisings and secondary transactions for US clients since 2017.  Campbell Lutyens’ fund placement team has completed fundraisings for leading US private equity, infrastructure and private debt managers in the past 18 months. In mid-market private equity, Campbell Lutyens acted as exclusive global placement agent for Webster Capital and advisor for Gauge Capital on their successful final closes of USD875 million and USD500 million, respectively.   The firm acted as global placement agent for Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners’ third fund, which closed at USD7.2 billion, the largest North American-focused
Middle market private equity firm One Equity Partners (OEP) has entered into an agreement to acquire Orion Business Innovation (Orion), a fast-growing global digital transformation firm.  Financial terms of the private transaction have not been disclosed. Headquartered in Edison, NJ and New York, Orion provides digital transformation and automation services to large enterprise customers across the financial and professional services, communications, media, professional sports, entertainment, education and healthcare industries. Orion has approximately 1,700 employees in 11 offices worldwide that are organised around serving four key areas of its customers’ needs: business transformation and automation, big data and analytics, cloud solutions
GP Bullhound has acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Namics, a specialist in digital transformation in Switzerland and Germany, on its sale to Merkle.  Namics provides further scale and depth to Merkle’s people-based marketing capabilities, in particular in the areas of business transformation strategy, digital consulting and technology implementation across Adobe Experience Cloud, Sitecore, Salesforce, SAP and other technology partners. The acquisition by Merkle is subject to the German Federal Cartel Office’s clearance.  Founded in 1995, Namics employs more than 550 people and is a leading full-service digital agency in Switzerland and Germany. Namics is a one-stop shop for strategic

Events

12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am

Directory Listings