Allocations
Bowmark Capital has backed the management buy-out of Aston Scott Group, a regional commercial insurance broking business specialising in the mid-sized corporate, SME and motor trade sectors, for an undisclosed sum.
Aston Scott operates from 12 regional offices distributing insurance products on behalf of most of the leading UK insurers including AXA, Aviva, NIG, Allianz and RSA to around 33,000 customers. Founded in 1993, the company has grown through a successful buy-and-build strategy, having made 33 bolt-on acquisitions. It now has some 230 employees and focuses on providing complex policies which require a high level of service and deliver strong
From a performance perspective, Asia Pacific-focused hedge funds have really stood out from their global peers, not just over the last 12 months but over a two- three- and five-year period. For anyone who still needs reassuring that APAC hedge funds can deliver value, simply consider the following numbers, as detailed by Preqin in its March 2015 Hedge Fund Spotlight report.
Much of this performance is being driven by exposure to equity markets in what remain the key economic powerhouses of the region; namely India and China. Managers who are embedded in the region and well placed to understand the
Following its successful Series A funding in June 2014, Big Data Partnership has concluded its GBP3.1 million Series B financing round, led by Beringea, a private equity firm that previously invested GBP1.25m in the company.
The funds will used to expand Big Data Partnership's core capabilities in sales and marketing, engineering and data science, in order for the company to meet increasing demand from new enterprise clients. With the benefit of the additional investment round, the company will move to larger premises in the heart of London's Tech City to accommodate its expanding workforce.
"With proven knowledge and experience aligned
Aquila Capital has launched the Aquila European Hydropower Fund offering institutional investors a regulated fund structure with the responsibility for sourcing and managing the assets delegated to a dedicated team of hydropower investment experts.
The Aquila European Hydropower Fund offers a solution for institutional investors who wish to obtain preferred access to a balanced and diversified portfolio of European hydropower assets. Its objective is to deliver an IRR of 7-9 per cent and long-term stable cash yields, low volatility and independence from traditional asset classes and government subsidies.
A new study commissioned by Aquila Capital reveals that currently 7 per
Solidifi, a provider of residential real estate appraisals, has acquired Southwest Financial Services, a national, independent provider of outsourced services to home equity lenders.
The acquisition extends and strengthens Solidifi's solutions for the home equity market.
“The combination of Solidifi's strength in purchase and refinance appraisals provided by our network of more than 25,000 appraisers and Southwest Financial Services innovative home equity product offerings creates a robust experience for lenders, who have access to a more complete suite of solutions,” says Solidifi's CEO, Jason Smith. “It’s a win-win. And it's happening at the right time, as consumer confidence returns and
Lawson Conner, a provider of investment management and compliance solutions to the alternative investment fund industry, has launched ‘Discovery’, an AIFM integrated offshore Investment Management Platform.
‘Discovery' will be structured as a Cayman Islands Segregated Portfolio Company (SPC), offering both EU and non-EU domiciled investment managers the opportunity to utilise a prompt and cost-effective 'plug-and-play' solution for multiple jurisdictions, while still offering fund managers the safety they would expect from operating their own dedicated fund structure. Funds can be launched within four-weeks under Cayman Islands law and in line with AIFMD regulations. Each ‘Discovery’ sub-fund has segregated liability and is therefore
European private equity firm Idinvest Partners has held the final closing of its Idinvest Digital Fund II at EUR140 million.
The fund is entirely dedicated to financing the growth of developing businesses in the digital and new technology segments (web-based, media, mobile, e-commerce services and software) in France and across Europe.
The fund has invested in 10 companies so far, including Sigfox, Synthesio and Twenga ; 30% of the capital has been called in and the fund is already delivering positive returns.
The fund has successfully gathered prominent investors, such as Bpifrance and Idinvest’s historical partner, Allianz France, who are
Elian Fund Services (Guernsey) has supported iCON Infrastructure Partners on the first and final close of its third fund, iCON Infrastructure III, a Guernsey registered closed-ended investment scheme with approximately EUR800m in commitments.
This follows the strong investment performance of iCON's first fund and the successful investment of their second fund.
Consistent with the strategy employed for iCON I and iCON II, the new fund has been established to focus on mid-sized, core infrastructure investment opportunities, located predominantly in Europe with a secondary focus on North America.
Elian Fund Services (Guernsey) Limited has a long-standing relationship with iCON
Private debt fundraising and funds currently in market are examined in this extract from the Preqin Quarterly Update: Private Debt, Q1 2015.
Fundraising in Q1 2015
Q1 2015 saw 19 private debt funds reach a final close, securing an aggregate USD16 billion in commitments. This is a drop on the USD22 billion raised in Q4 2014 by 28 funds, but an increase on the amount of capital raised in the first quarter of 2014, when USD12 billion was accumulated (Fig 1).
Mezzanine fundraising accounted for the vast majority (70%) of capital raised in Q1 2015, with the bulk of
SFW Capital Partners (SFW), a private equity firm specialising in Analytical Tools and Related Services, has held the final close of SFW Capital Partners Fund II with total commitments of over USD345 million
The fund closed at its hard cap.
SFW focuses on making strategic investments in mid-size Analytical Tools and Related Services companies, including providers of instrumentation, information and software, and related business services, a sector that the SFW team has invested in for over 20 years. Analytical Tools and Related Services businesses provide information, data, and analytics that support research, product development, process control, quality assurance, compliance, diagnostics,
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
