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Focus Group, a provider of essential business technology, has made a significant investment in Midlands-based communications specialist Evad, to support its ambitious plans for growth and development into new sectors.
The financial investment in Evad will enable both brands to extend geographical reach across the UK, diversify product portfolios and deliver service expertise to specialist market sectors.
Evad, formally owned by Ethos Group, will continue to operate under its well-established brand name, with Matt Hill (CEO) and Richard Osborn (Sales Director) at the helm, leading the Derby-based team into the future. Evad is a nationwide provider of communications solutions to
Preqin’s new Women in Alternatives 2022 report shows that although the alternatives industry has not seen a major drop in the proportion of female employees during the Covid-19 pandemic, there is more work to be done to rectify the marked gender imbalance, especially in senior positions.
Gender balance has improved, albeit slowly, across the alternative assets industry as a whole. According to Deloitte, one woman in the C-suite leads to three promotions of women into senior management roles; simply put, the lack of women in leadership positions can negatively affect the prosperity of women in the industry as a whole.
Goldfinch Partners and The Baupost Group, have reached the initial closing in the acquisition of Western Union Business Solutions (WUBS) for USD910 million.
WUBS, which will be renamed Convera as a new standalone B2B global payments company, had a record 2021 with over 20 percent revenue growth and payments volume of USD170 billion. Patrick Gauthier, who was most recently the Global Head of Amazon Pay, will serve as Convera’s CEO.
Convera will add several veteran fintech professionals to its leadership team with experience at companies including Amazon, BCG, BCG Digital Ventures, PayPal and Visa. These include Jodi Krause (Chief People
Global proptech venture capital firm Pi Labs has secured USD90 million for its oversubscribed latest fund, which will back startups revolutionising the real estate world through technology.
This is Pi Labs’ third proptech fund and its largest to date.
The fund’s primary focus will be to invest in early stage proptech startups – from pre-seed to series A stage – around the world, with average investments ranging from USD500,000-USD1.5 million per deal, plus follow-on capital. With a USD90 million investment platform and looking to back the next global proptech unicorn, Pi Labs will also deploy capital during later stage rounds
Novata, a public benefit corporation and technology platform that provides private markets stakeholders with intuitive and effective environmental, social and governance (ESG) data management solutions, has formed the Novata ESG Advisory Council.
The Council comprises leading experts in ESG with broad-based experience in academia, research, public and private company stewardship, investment management, and impact-driven initiatives. The global Council will operate as an independent sounding board for Novata and will advise on the most effective way to help private companies and their owners navigate, operationalise, and extract value from ESG data.
Founding members of the Council include:
Margot Brandenburg, Senior Program
Neuraxpharm Group (Neuraxpharm), a European specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the central nervous system (CNS), has expanded its business in Southeast Europe through the acquisition of Brain Therapeutics, a CNS-focused marketing and distribution company with expertise in the commercialisation of CNS products in Greece, Cyprus and the Balkan countries.
Having acquired Brain Therapeutics, Neuraxpharm is now able to bring new products to the Greek market since the platform offers a unique level of local market access. The commercial expertise of Brain Therapeutics and the availability of necessary licenses for the broad product portfolio will enable Neuraxpharm to expand its
Funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities (Blackstone) have agreed to make a GBP140 million strategic investment in Currencies Direct, a global provider of digital foreign exchange (FX) and international payment services to private clients and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
The investment will be made in partnership with Currencies Direct’s management team, led by Keith Hatton, and Palamon Capital Partners and Corsair (“the Sponsors”), which will retain their majority co-controlling stake in the Company.
Blackstone’s strategic investment will be used to accelerate the Company’s growth ambitions through further acquisitions.
In connection with its investment, Blackstone will join the Currencies
MCO (MyComplianceOffice), a provider of conduct risk and compliance technology, is to acquire Schwab Compliance Technologies (SCT).
SCT serves some 700 clients providing a SaaS solution that automates asks associated with monitoring employee trading activity and efficiently administering a firm’s Code of Ethics.
The acquisition is expected to close in mid-2022. For now, the plan is business as usual for both firms. Following the close, MCO will work closely with Schwab to ensure a smooth, effective transition for SCT clients.
McNally Capital (McNally), a specialist in Direct Family Capital, has invested in The Smith & Oby Company (Smith & Oby), a Midwest HVAC and plumbing mechanical contractor and services provider serving primarily the healthcare, education, commercial & industrial, and civic end markets.
McNally invested in Smith & Oby out of McNally Capital Fund II, the firm’s committed buyout vehicle.
McNally’s investment in Smith & Oby aligns with the firm’s investment thesis focused on facilities management and HVAC. McNally Capital completed this investment in line with its model of partnering with family- and founder-owned businesses.
McNally Capital invests capital on behalf
Inverleith LLP, an Edinburgh-based specialist consumer brand investor, has acquired a majority stake in Farmison & Co, a UK-based online butcher.
Focused on British heritage and rare breeds, and an ethical, sustainable supply chain, Farmison has established itself as a leading player in the growing online premium meat and butchery market.
Established in 2011 by John Pallagi and Lee Simmonds in England’s beautiful North Yorkshire Dales, Farmison is on a mission to encourage UK consumers to ‘eat better meat’.
Farmison’s meat is always British, free-range, naturally fed and dry-aged and the business is leading the return
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