Allocations
EXCEL Esports (EXCEL), a leading British esports franchise competing in League of Legends, Fortnite and VALORANT, has secured EUR20 million (GBP17 million) in new equity capital.
This financing round was led by investment firm JRJ Group which first acquired a majority shareholding in 2018 alongside TOMS Capital LLC, the family office of Noam Gottesman. Amongst the new investors joining them are IPGL Ltd, the family office of Michael Spencer; the family office of Alan Howard; and the international private equity firm TNF Investments.
EXCEL has rapidly grown into a top name in competitive gaming, most notably as a founding partner
StepEx, the only FCA-regulated fintech startup that provides affordable student finance based on future earnings rather than debt, has raised GBP1.1 million in pre-seed funding.
This follows an earlier angel investment of GBP270,000. Backed by BBVA Anthemis Venture Partnership, Triple Point Ventures, and prominent angel investors — including renowned fintech investor Chris Adelsbach — the money will primarily fund further development of the company’s machine learning model and user platform, as well as expansion of the senior team.
Only two per cent of the population can afford to take on the cost of pursuing a top postgraduate qualification. StepEx aims to widen
Certain funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management are to acquire a majority stake in Reno De Medici SpA (RDM), a leading producer of recycled cartonboard in Europe.
Apollo Funds will acquire approximately 67 per cent equity ownership in RDM from the Company’s top two shareholders, Cascades Inc. (TSX: CAS) and Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec for EUR1.45 per share (with no adjustments, save as further detailed below), representing a 24 per cent premium to the 90-day volume weighted average share price. The closing of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions as further detailed
DWS has launched its new institutional ESG Infrastructure Debt Fund (EIDF), which will focus on European sustainability themed infrastructure sectors which contribute towards making society and economies more sustainable.
ESG will play a key factor in all strategic allocations for the fund, targeting sectors including: renewable energy, digital, energy efficiency/utilities, clean mobility/transportation and social infrastructure. It will make 10-15 private infrastructure debt investments (loans and notes) with circa 70 per cent across senior debt, and circa 30 per cent in junior debt with a positive ESG contribution essential for the investment decision making process. With the aim to deliver sustainable
Livingbridge, one of the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investors, has invested in World of Books Group (Wob), a UK online re-seller of second-hand books.
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex, Wob is a re-commerce business operating within the books sector, committed to acting as a force for good. Its purpose driven actions focus on three areas – the promotion of used goods; championing literacy by helping to make books more widely accessible; and taking action to reduce carbon emissions – each aligned with the UN Sustainable Development goals of responsible consumption, quality education and climate action.
Wob’s
Europe’s leading retail & consumer investment and innovation firm True has held the close of its latest fund – Fund III – dedicated to backing the retail and consumer businesses, at the forefront of consumer behavioural change.
Following a virtual fundraising process True has exceeded its target of GBP250 million with support from both new and existing institutional investors. The fund was oversubscribed and in total True now has over GBP600 million (USD850 million) AUM – just five years after Fund I closed.
True takes majority and minority positions in future-fit, digital-first businesses that are capitalising on the shift
Global investment firm KKR is to acquire Global Infrastructure Partners’ (GIP) entire interest in Highway Concessions One (HC1) and seven highway assets with a total length of 487 kilometres.
HC1 is a platform in India that manages GIP’s road portfolio which spans across seven states including Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.
Through the acquisition of GIP’s interest in HC1, KKR aims to help strengthen and expand India’s national highway network, which serves about 40 per cent of total traffic but accounts for only 2 per cent of the country’s road network. This latest infrastructure investment
Tesseract Holdings Limited (THL), a subsidiary of the Aquila European Renewables Income Fund (AERIF), has successfully completed the acquisition of a 50 per cent interest in the unlevered Portuguese solar project Ourique.
Ourique is located in Alentejo, Portugal, and has an installed capacity of c60 MWp. The solar farm started its operations in December 2019 and its power price hedges cover 100 per cent of the produced energy until March 2026. It is expected to save 17,035 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum, and an estimated 511,046 tonnes over the lifetime of the project (100 per cent interest basis).
With
Balderton Capital has appointed Adrian Rainey as its new Operating Partner. Rainey will work closely with Balderton’s Limited Partners and oversee the firm’s internal operations.
He will also provide support to Balderton’s portfolio founders through the initial investment process, subsequent fundraisings and key milestones on their journey to growth.
Rainey joins Balderton with more than 17 years of experience in venture. Prior to joining the firm, Adrian was a Partner in Goodwin’s Technology group advising emerging companies and investors on equity and venture debt financings and M&A. Before he joined Goodwin, Rainey was a Partner at Taylor Wessing where he
Fysios, the largest private physiotherapy company in Finland, will become part of Mehiläinen through a share transaction signed on 1 July 2021.
The strong development of Fysios’s operations will continue in the future. The aim of the acquisition is to develop operating models that renew the industry and emphasise the role of digital services. As a pioneer of physiotherapy services, Fysios offers a wide range of physiotherapy-related services at more than 100 clinics across more than 50 locations. The company employs about 800 skilled therapists. Fysios’s operating methods emphasise strong development, quality and training. The activities will now continue as
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
