Managers
Ikigai, a UK fintech company which combines digital banking with wealth management, has received pre-seed funding of GBP4.1 million through an oversubscribed crowdfunding campaign.
By Kyle Burrell, US FSO Assurance Partner, Ernst & Young LLP – Over the years, private equity fund managers have bolstered their firms’ reputations as the asset class of choice for investors, building strong value for their portfolio companies and fuelling job growth across a wide swath of industries.
VAM Funds (VAM), a Luxembourg SICAV fund management company, has partnered with Foresight Capital Management to launch the VAM Global Infrastructure Fund (GIF).
FCM brings a strong track record in investment management, having generated consistent outperformance for Foresight’s Global Real Infrastructure Fund, which reached a Net Asset Value of GBP500 million within two years of launch.
The fund’s investment strategy will focus on globally-listed asset-owning infrastructure and renewables businesses, tapping into the growth potential and attractive risk-adjusted returns available to investors.
The new Fund complements VAM’s range of funds ranging from single strategy to discretionary funds. GIF will be distributed
Tactus Group, a specialist in the development of consumer technology products, has expanded into the US market with an investment into pi-top, a coding and robotics firm that specialises in improving digital skills in education.
The investment will strengthen Tactus Group’s capabilities in coding and robotics, and bolster its offering in the education sector, following success on previous projects with the UK’s Department for Education. The deal will also enable pi-top to tap into Tactus’ supply chain expertise, providing greater access to markets including China and the UK.
Founded in 2014, pi-top is one of the fastest-growing ed-tech
A company which has designed a software platform that helps businesses optimise online recruitment has raised GBP630,000 to support its growth plans.
Smart Recruit Online secured the funding from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), and private investors.
Smart Recruit’s system combines the latest technologies with insights from behavioural science and tried and tested recruitment processes. It enables companies to address the problem of how to attract the best talent online quickly and at low costs.
The funding will allow the
Luminate Capital Partners has closed Luminate Capital Partners III, LP with USD1 billion of committed capital from a broad group of global institutional investors.
The oversubscribed fund closed at its hard cap and above its USD700 million target, bringing the firm’s total assets under management to USD1.7 billion.
Since inception, Luminate has built a portfolio of 13 market-leading enterprise software companies, most recently adding Axonify, the leader in frontline employee training software. The firm has completed a number of exits and recapitalisations in the past year, including the recapitalisation of Oversight Systems with TCV, the recapitalisation of StarCompliance
A new report from LGT Capital Partners (LGT CP) shows that alternative investors are increasingly focusing on ESG outcomes in order to address key issues including climate change and diversity & inclusion (D&I).
The ninth annual ESG Report from LGT Capital Partners analyses the activities of 344 managers globally (including 267 private equity managers) and assesses the improvements made in ESG practices. The ESG Report also details a new framework employed by LGT CP to assess the physical and transition risks of its private debt portfolios. In addition, LGT CP shows how it is aligning the carbon footprints of its
KKR has invested in EQuest Education Group (EQuest), an educational services provider in Vietnam.
The investment will be used to support EQuest’s expansion and advance its mission to provide students in Vietnam with affordable access to world-class education.
EQuest operates a diversified portfolio across the educational sector in Vietnam, focusing on four core segments including K-12 bilingual schools, tertiary and vocational institutions, English enrichment courses, and digital learning solutions. Its K-12 portfolio, which serves more than 9,000 students in its eight campuses, has gained a strong reputation in Vietnam where there is a rapidly growing demand for an affordable bilingual
Global investment firm The Carlyle Group’s (NASDAQ: CG) Global Credit platform has agreed to provide a debt financing package of EUR400 million for Infront Group (Infront), a sports marketing company based in Switzerland.
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Zug, Infront is one of the world’s largest sports marketing companies, offering a broad range of services including Media Rights, Sponsorship Rights, Media Production and Digital Solutions. Infront intends to use the funds to refinance its existing debt and to support its expansion plans.
Soenke Ziebell, Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer of Infront, says: “With its industry expertise
Cairngorm Capital Partners’ (Cairngorm Capital) portfolio company, Grant & Stone, has acquired Devondale Electrical Distributors (Devondale).
This acquisition expands Grant & Stone’s specialist electrical division, complementing the recent acquisitions of builders’ and plumbers’ merchants in the South West of England.
Established in 1981, Devondale is the largest independent electrical wholesaler in the South West. Operating from nine branches across Somerset and Devon, it provides an extensive range of electrical and ancillary products to electricians, electrical contractors and facilities managers. Known for its technical expertise and outstanding service, Devondale is headquartered in Marsh Barton, Exeter and achieved revenues of £10m in
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
