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Macfarlanes has advised private equity firm Epiris on its recommended offer of approximately GBP206 million for IFG Group Plc.
IFG Group Plc is a financial services company with full market listings in London and Dublin. IFG’s two businesses, James Hay and Saunderson House, provide a range of financial solutions including full platform services, pension administration and independent financial advice.
The Macfarlanes team for this matter was led corporate and M&A partners Stephen Drewitt and Richard Burrows, alongside finance partner Kirstie Hutchinson.
OpCapita Consumer Opportunities Fund II, advised by OpCapita, a private equity firm specialising in the operational improvement of businesses in the retail, consumer and leisure industries, is to acquire a majority equity stake in Maurices Incorporated (maurices), a specialty retailer focused on women’s value apparel.
maurices’ current parent company, ascena retail group (ascena) will retain a significant equity interest in the business and will continue to provide brand support services. Certain members of the maurices management team will invest alongside OpCapita in the transaction, which values maurices at an enterprise value of USD300 million.
Founded in 1931, maurices is
WestBridge Capital (WestBridge) has acquired a majority shareholding in and provided growth capital to Wilcomatic Limited (Wilcomatic), a UK-based provider of vehicle and rail wash systems.
Established in 1967, Wilcomatic supplies and supports vehicle wash systems to petrol forecourts throughout the UK and has contracts with all the UK’s major supermarkets. The company also supplies a full range of other ancillary forecourt equipment including jet wash systems, vacuum units, tyre inflation equipment, and water recycling systems.
Wilcomatic currently has 3,000 machines in the market and has plans to double this estate over the next three years.
Wilcomatic is
BTG Advisory, a division of Begbies Traynor Group plc, has appointed experienced funding experts David Smithies, Stephen Couldwell and Andy Chaffer to its corporate solutions team.
David, Stephen and Andy will work with banks and professionals to help businesses across the North to access unsecured lending, in partnership with European credit specialist Caple. The move strengthens BTG Advisory’s offering of tailored funding solutions. David has over 35 years’ corporate and commercial banking experience as a banking relationship director with NatWest, working with a portfolio of businesses across a range of industries.
Stephen also has extensive relationship and bank lending
By Light Professional IT Services (By Light) has acquired Phacil, Inc, a diversified software, cybersecurity systems engineering and managed services provider to the US Government. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Phacil has been a trusted partner to its US Government client base for nearly two decades. It delivers mission-critical IT services, including the modernisation and assessment of IT systems and networks, and the implementation of cloud and other managed services to support web applications, infrastructure, and project management; cybersecurity threat identification, vulnerability testing and systems monitoring; and the development and implementation of cloud and other software
Cavendish Corporate Finance, a UK mid-market M&A firm, has advised Inflexion Private Equity on its successful buyout of Creative Car Park Limited (CCP), a UK provider of car park management solutions for small businesses.
The investment is being made by Inflexion Buyout Fund V, Inflexion’s dedicated mid-market fund.
Based in London and founded in 2005, CCP was the UK’s first car park operator to offer a fully automated number plate recognition technology enforcement service. The firm’s offering ensures CCP’s clients’ customers can park easily by preventing misuse as well as freeing up staff time from monitoring parking. CCP’s low-cost
Jaipur-based Finova Capital (Finova), a Non-Banking Financial Company, has raised USD15 million from Faering Capital and existing investor Sequoia India. Finova will use the funds to expand its presence and enable access to credit for the unbanked population.
Finova Capital aims to serve the ‘missing middle’ of the MSME segment – small businesses and service providers in small towns and rural areas, who are looking for mid-ticket loans of INR 5-6 lakhs for a period of up to seven years. The loans are provided at customised terms and designed keeping the end customer in mind.
Currently operating out of
Macfarlanes has appointed Tim Plews as a consultant in the firm’s financial services regulation team, effective 1 May 2019.
Plews specialises in financial services markets law and regulation, financial institution mergers and acquisitions, the development of new financial products, governance of financial institutions and regulatory investigations and enforcement.
He was a partner in Clifford Chance for 23 years before becoming a senior advisor in 2017. During this time he had a number of roles including co-heading the global financial services practice and running the firm’s Middle Eastern financial services practice.
He will bring his wealth of experience to
Funds advised and managed by YFM Equity Partners (YFM), a specialist private equity fund manager have backed a significant investment into Frescobol Carioca Limited (Frescobol).
YFM’s investment comes from its two advised VCTs, British Smaller Companies VCT plc and British Smaller Companies VCT2 plc.
Founded in 2013 as the brainchild of friends Harry Brantly and Max Leese, Frescobol’s roots lie in their Brazilian heritage and travel experiences which are reflected in a range of luxury men’s swimming trunks and resort wear that references and brings to life the Rio beach lifestyle. Growth in recent years has been rapid, now
The results of a Guernsey Finance funds survey, carried out among asset managers and intermediaries at the SuperReturn International, show that more than half of managers would consider splitting global and EU distribution if it led to improved levels of service.
More than half of firms surveyed are considering reviewing their distribution and structuring of investment funds in the next 12 months and some three-quarters have reviewed their distribution arrangements in the previous two years.
Market access is a key priority. Managers are starting to recognise Guernsey’s credentials in global distribution – proven routes to market for institutional investors
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