Allocations
Africa has the opportunity to quadruple living standards by 2040, but to do so it will need to find USD11.4 trillion in extra investment over that period. That’s according to a Capital Economics report commissioned by Jersey Finance.
While Africa has fifteen per cent of the world’s population, it generates just four per cent of global output. But the Capital Economics report argues that Africa is on the verge of a demographic dividend. While other continents face ageing populations, Africa’s working age population is expected to double to 1.2 billion over the next 30 years.
To support this and
An increasing proportion of investors in hedge funds are based in the Asia-Pacific region. Who are these investors and which strategies are they targeting? Preqin examines the hedge fund investor landscape within this dynamic region.
Asia-Pacific is home to just under two-thirds of the world’s population and is a burgeoning region encompassing emerging, developing and advanced economies. Rapid growth has led to immense wealth generation that has contributed to a surplus of savings from countries in the region. Given this backdrop, institutional investors based in the region have been growing in prominence over recent years. Entrusted with vast amounts of
The Conifer Group, which merged with Vastardis Capital to form Conifer Financial Services – an asset services firm offering front to back capabilities across all asset classes to pensions, endowments, family offices, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital managers, RIAs and traditional asset managers – is celebrating 25 years in the industry.
Jack McDonald, president and CEO of Conifer Financial Services, says: "Bill Vastardis and I extend our personal assurance that the superior services our clients have enjoyed will continue. We are committed to providing enviable levels of personal service, technology and financial expertise that are unsurpassed in the
Wynnchurch Capital has closed its fourth private equity fund, Wynnchurch Capital Partners IV, with USD1.2 billion of limited partner commitments.
The fund, which had a target of USD900 million, was oversubscribed, resulting in the fund reaching its hard cap closing relatively quickly after its initial launch in September 2014.
“We are delighted with the level of support from our existing investors and welcome a select group of new investors,” says John Hatherly, managing partner of Wynnchurch. “The successful fundraise represents a strong endorsement of our team, our track record, and our value oriented investment approach.”
Wynnchurch has been
Law firm Howard Kennedy has advised 31 venture capital trusts (VCTs) in the past seven months.
The firm’s VCT team has advised on 20 completed offers, with a further 11 offers ongoing, with a combined market value of GBP443m. The firm has advised 14 VCTs as both sponsor and legal adviser, and 17 as sponsor only.
Keith Lassman, partner and head of capital markets at Howard Kennedy, says: “For the past 17 years we have led the market advising VCTs. This year we have advised on 31 of the 37 VCTs to come to market. As the only English law
Albion Ventures has sold Tower Bridge Health and Fitness Club to Encore Capital, delivering a total return of 2.8 times the amount invested and an IRR of 25 per cent.
Tower Bridge Health and Fitness Club is a premium club located at the More London estate near Tower Bridge, overlooking the River Thames. It has a 20 metre swimming pool, sauna, steam room, several studios, a beauty spa and a state-of-the-art gym. The club has been operating for nine years.
Albion first invested in Tower Bridge Health and Fitness Club in 2005 alongside London Health and Fitness to finance the
Cloud Equity Group, an investment management company focused on opportunistic acquisitions of web service providers, has acquired Just199 Hosting, a budget web hosting provider based in South Carolina.
Just199 Hosting, which operates under Just199.com, was founded in 2006 by Dave Wykofka with the goal of providing easy-to-use budget hosting services for the masses. Over time, the company diversified its product offerings to include shared hosting, reseller hosting, virtual private servers, paid forum hosting, and remote support.
Cloud Equity Group will integrate Just199 Hosting into its consolidated portfolio to deliver a premium budget hosting service to both novice and advanced
Mid-market advisory firm Clearwater International has advised recruitment agency GatenbySanderson on its management buyout (MBO), backed by private equity house Primary Capital.
GatenbySanderson provides permanent and interim executives across public services and the not for profit sector. The business has a particular expertise in headhunting chief executives, senior management teams and non-executive board members within markets that frequently undergo change.
Primary Capital has previous experience in the support services sector, acquiring security recruitment business Pegasus Security and achieving a 5xreturn on its investment in 2006. Primary Capital’s latest acquisition will help GatenbySanderson achieve the next stage in development by
Zolfo Cooper has advised the shareholders of iNTERTAIN Limited, best known for its chain of Walkabout bars, on its management buy-out led by chairman David Myers and CEO John Leslie.
The purchaser, Better Capital LLP, is a private equity investment vehicle founded by Jon Moulton, former managing partner of Alchemy.
Paul Hemming, a partner in Zolfo Cooper’s corporate finance team, says: “Against the backdrop of a difficult trading environment we used our extensive network of contacts in the market to identify potential buyers for the business. Better Capital has a great track record in these types of investment opportunities and
Ian Enslin, Charity Director at Waverton Investment Management, comments on Sainsbury's and the 'Big Four' retailers…
There is significant value in the big four food retailers, but they are lumbered by a cost base which can no longer be justified by the lack of growth and an imminent and inevitable price war under which they will suffer.
Sainsbury's has to make a choice now as to whether it is going to attempt to compete in the bargain basement on price or re-shape it's business from the ground floor upwards to create a sustainable retailer shoppers want to visit over the
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
