Allocations
UBS Asset Management’s (UBS-AM) Real Estate & Private Markets (REPM) business has launched its second infrastructure debt fund, Archmore Infrastructure Debt Platform II (IDP II), with seed commitments from initial investors of more than EUR448.4 million.
IDP II has been launched on the back of the successful performance of its predecessor – the Archmore Infrastructure Debt Platform I (IDP I), which is now 94 per cent deployed and has a strong pipeline of attractive new investment opportunities. The strategy of this follow-on fund remains consistent; IDP II will focus on private infrastructure debt opportunities in Western Europe, primarily through direct
Farmstead, a new AI-powered digital micro-grocer that curates and delivers fresh, local foods from farm-to-fridge in 60 minutes, has secured an additional USD2 million capital infusion, led by Resolute Ventures and Social Capital, with additional participation from SV Angel and Y Combinator.
This latest round brings Farmstead’s total seed funding to USD4.8 million to date.
Farmstead will use the new funds to scale operations of its rapidly growing AI grocery sourcing and delivery service, continue building out its core AI technology, accelerate hiring, and expand its service well beyond the Bay Area.
“As Farmstead continues to grow at
HarbourVest Partners has held the final close of its flagship Europe, Asia, and emerging markets focused fund, HIPEP VIII Partnership at USD1.7 billion, exceeding its target and an ahead of the HIPEP VII Partnership fund which closed in August 2015 at USD1.5 billion.
“HarbourVest has long believed that solving for the unique challenges that our investors face must be at the core of everything we do,” says Peter Wilson, Managing Director and member of the Executive Management Committee, HarbourVest. “HarbourVest has invested more than USD25 billion in Europe, Asia Pacific, and other emerging markets over the last 30 years. These
Mobeus Equity Partners and Beringea have co-invested in a GBP5 million funding round for mpb.com, a specialist online marketplace for second-hand photographic and filmmaking equipment.
Millions of new cameras, interchangeable lenses, and other equipment and accessories are sold each year, generating billions of dollars in retail revenue across Europe and the US. mpb.com facilitates the secondary market for this equipment, which has primarily been served by traditional retailers and online generalist marketplaces such as eBay. Inaccurate, unclear, or inconsistent listings on first-generation peer-to-peer online marketplaces can cause significant variation in price for identical products. mpb.com’s proprietary technology manages the entire
Victory Park Capital (VPC) has launched a new fund together with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to invest in financial technology companies in emerging markets.
The partnership aims to improve access to debt capital for financial technology companies that lend to small businesses and consumers in emerging markets.
The new fund will combine VPC’s decade-long expertise in investing in financial services and financial technology with IFC’s leading role in investing in these sectors in developing countries. VPC and IFC will target growth investments in technology-driven companies across emerging markets with a focus
Culum Capital, a Singapore-based receivables and supply chain financing platform, has secured an investment from GTR Ventures which will be used to accelerate Culum’s expansion and support growth.
According to The World Trade Organisation (WTO, 2016), 80 per cent of trade is financed by credit or credit insurance. WTO estimates the value of unmet demand for trade finance in developing Asia is USD700 billon. The partnership will improve international investor access to this opportunity in Asia.
Culum Capital’s sophisticated platform provides Asian corporates with access to working capital funded by accredited investors. The platform provides an alternative form
Aquila Capital has launched a new energy transition strategy, ETIF (Energy Transition Infrastructure Fund) which will invest in energy infrastructure assets that are essential to Europe’s energy transition.
Aquila Capital currently manages renewable energy generation assets with a capacity of about 2,200MW.
ETIF will pursue the three most important sub-sectors of the energy transition, namely renewable energy generation, energy storage and energy transportation. It is planned to launch the strategy as a Luxembourg-based Reversed Alternative Investment Fund (RAIF) with a target volume of EUR 750 million and a term of 12 years. The target net IRR is 8 per
Brightstar Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in closely held middle market companies, has closed its inaugural fund program in excess of GBP710 million of institutional capital from investors worldwide.
The sum is one of the largest first-time private equity fundraises in the last year, according to data from PitchBook. Commitments come from a diverse set of institutional investors including several university endowments, high net worth investors, pension funds, private foundations, family offices and insurance companies.
Andrew Weinberg, Brightstar’s Founder and Managing Partner, says: “We are gratified by the enthusiasm and extraordinary level of support the institutional
Aberdeen Standard Investments and 21 Partners has formed a new UK-based 50:50 joint venture (JV) – 21 Aberdeen Standard Investments Limited (21ASI) – to launch a direct EUR1 billion private equity fund later this year.
The investment strategy for the fund will target active non-controlling interests with a focus on providing patient capital for the long term. The fund aims to support and facilitate growth in companies without owners ceding majority stakes in their business.
Beyond funding, 21ASI will provide portfolio companies with the support to help them manage challenges including managing their growth, the potential for disruption within
eFront’s latest quarterly private equity data shows that LBO performance reached a 10-year high in 2017, while overall risk levels reduced and average time to liquidity improved.
According to eFront, LBO funds posted their best performance in a decade in 2017, while multiples on invested capital of active private equity funds reached an all-time high in Q3 at 1.486x, marking the ninth year of improving performance from a low of below 1.1x in 2009.
Overall risk continues to reduce, as measured by TVPI spread, stabilising at 1.313x – close to the all-time low of Q2 2017 (1.275x) and well
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
