Managers
FGP Systems (FGP), a UK-based aerospace precision engineering company, is back in profit just three months after its acquisition out of administration by Cyrus Investment Management (CIM) with funds raised through the Cyrus Secured Loans Precision Engineering EIS Fund 1.
FGP was acquired in September and following growth investment and re-structuring by a total of 105 specialist engineering jobs have been saved.
FGP was founded in 1970 as a Tier 1 ‘build to print’ aerospace precision engineering company. It designs, engineers and manufactures bespoke mission critical components for the leading UK, European and US civil and military aerospace industries.
Private equity house WestBridge Capital has exited Aero Stanrew following its acquisition by TT Electronics plc, a global provider of engineered electronics for performance critical applications.
WestBridge backed the GBP8.5 million management buyout of Aero Stanrew in February 2012 and has worked in partnership with the executive team for the last three years to develop the business.
During that time, revenues and profitability have more than doubled and the company has deepened its relationships with its blue chip clients. The company’s transformation has been impressive, with sales forecast to be circa GBP18 million for the year ending 28 February
Octopus Ventures has invested GBP2 million in Segura Systems, a UK technology house delivering supply chain protection to a range of industries.
The cloud-based technology creates a comprehensive audit trail that allows all businesses to track every element of their purchases, not only from direct suppliers but also throughout the extended supply chain.
This Series A funding round is the first institutional money raised by the business, which was first conceived five years ago by Peter Needle and Ian Hepworth with the aim of helping businesses regain control of their supply chains. Segura Systems has already attracted the likes of
Hercules Technology Growth Capital has completed the previously-announced redemption of USD40.0 million of the USD85.9 million in issued and outstanding aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 7.00 per cent Senior Unsecured Notes due September 2019.
The partial redemption of the Notes will result in an annual interest expense savings of approximately USD3.0 million, prior to a one-time non-cash expense in the fourth quarter of 2015, attributed to acceleration of unamortised original debt issuance costs of approximately USD825,000, or USD0.01 per share of additional expense during the quarter. Hercules may elect to complete additional redemptions of its 7.0 per cent 2019
Global investment firm Summit Partners is taking a EUR31 million minority stake to support the growth of Signavio, a provider of SaaS-based software for business process and decision management.
CMS Germany’s Berlin-based technology team headed by partners Dr Jörg Zätzsch, Jesko Nobiling and Dr Ole Jani advised the Signavio founders on all legal aspects of the transaction.
Zätzsch says: "Signavio is regarded as a hidden champion in the Berlin start-up scene. Summit will undoubtedly prove to be a very important partner for expanding the business, especially in Europe, North America and Asia." During the year, the Berlin technology team has
Private equity firm Livingbridge has completed a GBP9.8 million investment in French restaurant group Le Bistrot Pierre, the Group’s first investment from its new, GBP220m, Enterprise 2 fund.
Established as a single franchise restaurant in Nottingham in 1994 by school friends Robert Beacham and John Whitehead, Le Bistrot Pierre provides customers with great value, authentic French cooking in a relaxing, lively atmosphere. The business now has a family of 14 bistrots located across a variety of locations, from large city centres such as Cardiff and coastal bistrots in Torquay to shopping centres in Newport and market towns like Leamington Spa.
Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance has provided a GBP55 million debt facility to support an affiliate of Sun European Partners (Sun) in its acquisition of Finlays Horticulture Investments Limited and Finlays Horticulture Holdings Limited (Finlays) from the Swire Group.
Blending asset-based and cashflow lending, the funding structure provided by Investec features revolvers and term debt to support the acquisition. It also caters for ongoing working capital and investment to drive future growth.
UK-headquartered Finlays, a distributor of fresh flowers, bouquets and packaged vegetables, generates annual revenues in excess of GBP300 million, selling to multiple retailers in the UK as well
Milbank advises EQT Mid Market on FocusVision acquisitiojn
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has advised private equity firm EQT Mid Market in its acquisition, in partnership with management, of technology solutions and services provider FocusVision.
Milbank’s deal team was led by New York-based Corporate partners Brien Wassner and Bob Kennedy.
FocusVision is a provider of quantitative and qualitative technology solutions to the market research industry, providing an online survey platform, research facility video streaming, webcam focus groups, ethnography streaming, mobile device usability studies, content management and end-to-end project management solutions. FocusVision’s services allow research professionals to engage with
Private equity firm HIG Capital has completed a strategic investment in Mr Cat, a Brazilian footwear company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro.
Present in 26 Brazilian states through more than 200 dedicated stores, Mr Cat offers a complete footwear portfolio for men and women, as well as accessories under the nationally recognized Mr Cat brand. The investment will support the company’s aggressive expansion plan through dedicated stores, other sales channels and international expansion.
“We are very excited to have HIG as a partner. Their ability and experience in helping companies grow will be of great value to Mr Cat.
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has finalised a loan facility of GBP30 million to Alliance Pharma plc (Alliance) as part of a GBP100m bank club.
Alliance will use the facility to partially finance the GBP127.5 million acquisition of the Healthcare Products Business from Sinclair IS Pharma plc.
The acquisition of 27 products will see Alliance almost double in size and increase its footprint outside the UK, with almost half the new company’s sales coming from overseas markets including the US, Asia Pacific and mainland Europe.
Rosh Wijayarathna, Director of Corporate Banking at SVB’s UK Branch, says: “We are delighted
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