Managers
AN affiliate of Private equity investment firm HIG Capital (HIG) has made a strategic investment in port logistics business Ship Supply International.
Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, Ship Supply provides timely and complex last-mile delivery of critical products and maritime services to cruise, cargo and military marine vessels. Through its asset-light business model, the Company has created a highly-scalable platform that executes on critical customer requirements in over 100 domestic and international ports.
“We are very excited about Ship Supply’s next phase of growth and to partner with HIG,” says Christian Giannakopoulos, President of Ship Supply.
Aethon Energy Management, a Dallas-based private investment firm focused on onshore oil & gas, has held the final closing of its second energy private equity fund, Aethon II LP.
Together with co-investments, Aethon's recent fundraising represents USD240 million in total capital commitments.
Aethon's recent activity exceeded the USD200 million target that the Company established at the outset of fundraising, and the fund received commitments from both new and existing institutional investors. The fund enabled Aethon's management to continue its strategy of acquiring and developing onshore oil and gas assets that provide attractive, asymmetric returns. Concurrent with this final closing
London‐based education technology start-up, BridgeU, has finalised a USD2.5 million seed fundraising round led by Octopus Investments, with participation from Fresco Capital and Seedcamp.
Other prominent investors include Jonnie Goodwin (Lepe Partners/Founders Forum) and Deborah Quazzo, who plans to contribute her personal investment in BridgeU to GSV Capital’s new EdTech focused fund.
BridgeU has developed the first adaptive university preparation and careers guidance platform for students and secondary schools for use both here in the UK and internationally. A SaaS solution, the platform uses machine learning techniques to recommend to students the best courses and appropriate Universities for them,
The John Laing Environmental Asset Group (JLEN) has acquired a solar PV portfolio for a cash consideration, including working capital, of GBP9.7 million.
The fully operational 2.3 MW solar energy generation portfolio comprises 303 systems of residential rooftop, commercial rooftop and commercial ground mounted solar PV installations, distributed across England, Wales and Scotland. The portfolio benefits from the UK feed-in tariff for 25 years from the date of installation of individual systems which is linked to an annual increase in the UK Retail Price Index.
The portfolio comprises a number of special purpose companies financed and owned by Venture
LoveCrafts has secured USD20 million in a funding round led by Highland Europe, with participation from existing investor Balderton Capital.
Addressing the USD100 billion craft industry, LoveCrafts is at the centre of the crafting community, with its sites LoveKnitting.com and LoveCrochet.com attracting millions of visitors every month. The company has experienced phenomenal growth, tripling each year and now distributes to customers in over 100 countries worldwide. LoveCrafts has physical operations in North America and Europe, and sites in English and German languages. In customer reviews LoveCrafts has outstanding levels of customer satisfaction.
LoveCrafts builds homes for crafters online, with a disruptive business
Funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities have acquired Diamonds Direct, an independent jewellery company.
Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, Diamonds Direct has a ong and well-established history in diamond sales and manufacturing. In the last seven years, the company has grown from one location in Charlotte to a multi-channel retailer with seven locations across the United States complimented by an online ecommerce storefront. Diamonds Direct’s retail locations are located in Charlotte, Raleigh, NC, Birmingham, AL, Richmond, VA, Austin, TX, with new locations opening in Oklahoma City, OK, and Charleston, SC, in early December.
“This is a very exciting day for Diamonds
Audax Group has partnered with existing management to acquire Justrite Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of industrial safety products for regulated and critical safety environments. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Justrite, headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois, is a leading, globally recognised industrial safety platform providing unparalleled technical expertise, unmatched service, and differentiated products. The Company offers one of the broadest suites of safety products for regulated and critical safety environments, including safety cabinets, safety cans, environmental and spill containment offerings, and outdoor safety storage buildings and lockers. Justrite’s products help ensure customers’ compliance with regulatory standards, including the
UK-based Sensible Lender Limited has raised GBP7 million in a first round of venture capital investments led by Venture Capital Partners to accelerate growth of its global peer-to-peer lending platform.
The remainder of the GBP17.8 million commitment is to be provided in three separate tranches over a six-month period.
Launched in 2012, Sensible Lender has more than 600 investors and over 140 borrowers from the United Kingdom with more than GBP32 million of bridging loans written with an average loan advance of GBP217,000 at an average LTV (Loan-To-Value) of 68.7 per cent. The company has already closed on GBP16.4
Sportlobster, a sports app that brings fans together, has secured GBP2 million in venture capital funding from UAE-based investment company, Daman Investments.
“Sportlobster is in strong growth mode at the moment and this is certainly a reflection of our investment into – and focus on – the product, particularly this year. Our latest funding allows us to further accelerate our competitive lead in a number of ways,” says the company’s CEO and co-founder, Andy Meikle. “Daman sees Sportlobster as an innovative concept and the product is unmatched. This raise and Daman’s continued support will allow us to execute our global
Aurelius Group has acquired Colt Managed Cloud (CMC), the managed cloud business of Colt Group SA (Colt), which will now be integrated with another Aurelius portfolio company ICT services provider Getronics Group.
In addition a long-term strategic business partnership has been agreed between Getronics and Colt which will allow Getronics to provide managed cloud services to Colt’s customer base and utilise Colt's network, voice and data centre capabilities.
France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Romania and India) and employs a skilled workforce across operations, transition and engagement, pre-sales, service management and support functions. CMC retains a strong
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
