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New York-based Grafine Partners, established by former Riverstone Holdings’ executive Elizabeth Weymouth, is hoping to fill what it regards as a key gap in the market, by providing institutional investors with a dedicated direct investment platform; one that places emphasis on patient, creative and sophisticated capital and a way for large investors to look beyond the usual ‘2 & 20’ fee model charged by traditional commingled funds.
Weymouth, who founded Grafine Partners and acts as Managing Partner and Chair of the Investment Committee, has been in the investment world for 25 years, building up two substantial investment platforms; one at
Claret Capital Partners Limited (Claret) (formerly Harbert European Growth Capital), has held the first closing of its third fund, Fund III, which will continue to invest in innovative growth stage tech and life science businesses throughout Europe primarily to support organic growth and M&A.
Claret Capital Partners was formed through the MBO of Harbert European Growth Capital in 2020. Over the past seven years, the team behind Claret Capital has become one of the preeminent providers of growth debt to SMEs in Europe, investing in excess of half a billion euro.
The previous funds have backed over 120 European SMEs
BlackCurve, a pricing optimisation company, has closed a GBP1 million funding round, led by Chairman, Martin Fincham, with participation from Nauta Capital, The Cambridge Angels Network and other prominent Angels, members of the ScaleUp Group and then bolstered by a matching contribution from the UK Government’s Future Fund.
Founded in 2016, BlackCurve’s pricing optimisation platform helps retailers manage and optimise the price of every item they sell to achieve their business goals. This SaaS platform, powered by Artificial Intelligence, ingests data sources ranging from sales history and web shop transactions, through to competitor pricing and stock levels, enabling every retailer
Private equity fund administrator Saltgate has appointed Alison French as its first-ever Chief People Officer.
French joined Saltgate last year as a consultant to increase employee engagement, and embed Saltgate’s values. In the newly formed role, she will sit on the Group Strategic Committee to oversee recruitment, diversity, culture and communications. She reports to the group CEO, Simon Riley.
Before joining Saltgate, French ran her own talent strategy consultancy. She started her career in banking, spending 11 years at Goldman Sachs. She then joined the US hedge fund Citadel as a senior talent strategist, and the renewable energy investor Low Carbon
M&A valuations are soaring, with rich valuations and intense competition for many digital or technology-based assets driving global deals activity, according to PwC’s latest Global M&A Industry Trends analysis.
Covering the last six months of 2020, the analysis examines global deals activity and incorporates insights from PwC’s deals industry specialists to identify the key trends driving M&A activity, and anticipated investment hotspots in 2021.
In spite of the uncertainty created by COVID-19, the second half of 2020 saw a surge in M&A activity.
“Covid-19 gave companies a rare glimpse into their future, and many did not like what they saw.
European private debt manager Pemberton has provided financing alongside Partners Group to support CapVest’s acquisition of Inspired Pet Nutrition (IPN), a FMCG pet food company based in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom.
Founded in 1923, IPN has grown into a leading independent pet food company in the United Kingdom, providing premium, natural products at an affordable price point. The company owns two of the top three dry dog food brands in the UK, Harringtons and Wagg, and has a strong private label offering supplying leading pet specialist retailers and grocers.
IPN has an outstanding track record of
Foresight Group (Foresight), an independent infrastructure and private equity investment manager, has made a GBP4.5 million investment in iMist Holdings Limited (iMist), a manufacturer and installer of water mist fire protection systems for homes and residential buildings.
iMist was founded in 2015 by Tony Sims (Managing Director) who has over 20 years’ engineering experience. The Company has developed its own range of high-pressure water mist fire suppression systems, specifically for domestic and larger residential properties. Their proprietary solution offers a number of benefits over traditional fire sprinkler and lower pressure water mist products including more efficient use of water, ease
Crestbridge, a provider of private equity and real estate administration solutions, has appointed Alex Di Santo as Group Head of Private Equity.
Impax Asset Management (Impax), a specialist asset manager investing in the transition to a more sustainable global economy, has appointed Sean Maguire as a managing director in firm’s private equity/infrastructure team in London.
Impax is one of the longest established private markets managers in the large and rapidly growing renewable energy sector. Sean’s industry network and commercial experience with power purchase agreements (PPA) and adjacent renewable sectors will complement the Private Equity/Infrastructure team’s existing skill set. Sean will be primarily focused on sourcing and executing new investment opportunities.
Maguire’s appointment, effective as of 11 January 2021, follows the recent
Investcorp has added Frances Fragos Townsend to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. With Townsend’s appointment, Investcorp’s Board now comprises 15 directors, 10 of whom have joined the in the past five years.
Townsend is Emeritus Vice Chairman at MacAndrews & Forbes, Incorporated (MacAndrews). She formerly held the titles of General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Vice President for Worldwide Government, Legal and Business Affairs working across MacAndrew’s portfolio companies focusing on international, legal, compliance and business development issues. Ms. Townsend previously served as Advisor to President George W Bush for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and chaired the
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