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BGF completed 48 new investments and provided GBP310 million in funding to UK smaller and mid-sized companies in 2017. BGF was the UK’s most active institutional investor in 2017.
The year ended on another high with GBP79 million was invested in December, an all-time record month for BGF, while two further transactions have already completed in the first two weeks of 2018.
In October, BGF made its 200th new company investment, and exceeded GBP1.3 billion of invested long-term capital. Portfolio companies represent every nation, region and city, and every sector of the UK economy.
New investments in 2017 added
Sendy, an app-based on-demand delivery services platform operating across Kenya, has completed a Series A investment round, led by DOB Equity. DOB Equity will invest alongside CFAO, a member of the Toyota Group, and other private investors.
DOB Equity says that the new funds will enable Sendy to increase their platforms’ service offering. This includes adding more delivery vehicles to their platform, increasing their coverage area, expanding the sales and technology team, and preparing for future expansion into neighbouring countries in East Africa.
DOB Equity explains that the current logistics sector in Kenya – worth USD10 billion – is
Urban simulation software developer ForCity has closed its first round of investment at EUR8 million, through a process led by CM-CIC Innovation and with the participation of the Caisse des Dépôts Group, Omnes Capital and Axeleo Capital.
This first round will allow ForCity to focus on scaling deployment and accelerating time to market for its solutions. These are currently geared towards public and private stakeholders in energy, environment, urban planning and real estate.
What will a city look like in five, 10 or even 20 years’ time? In the long term what is the most effective configuration for a
MMC Ventures has promoted Head of Research, David Kelnar, to Partner.
MMC has focused on the technology sector since it was founded in 2000. Under David Kelnar’s leadership MMC has built up a widely recognised Research function which it uses to guide its investment themes and to provide the entrepreneurs it backs with deep domain knowledge.
Kelnar was uniquely suited to head MMC’s Research team. His technology research experience was gained at Goldman Sachs and New York hedge fund, Calypso Capital. This coupled with his own entrepreneurial experience having raised capital for his own startup and operational experience
Noerr has advised private equity funds assisted by DPE Deutsche Private Equity Management III on the purchase of a majority interest in Air Alliance Group, a dealer for the well-known aircraft manufacturers Pilatus, Diamond and Gulfstream.
With offices and facilities in Siegerland, Cologne, Vienna and Birmingham, the company also offers comprehensive maintenance and repair services for private and business aircraft and is a leading European provider of medical flights.
In this transaction DPE relied on Noerr and a team led by its private equity partner Georg Schneider. Noerr’s private equity team is regularly involved in buyout transactions and in
Palamon Capital Partners (Palamon) has acquired a majority stake in Thomas International, an international provider of psychometric assessment solutions with a focus on the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market.
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Thomas International is a leading provider of online psychometric assessments, consulting, and related products and services. Founded in 1981 by the Reed family, the Company has been at the forefront of assessment innovation for more than 37 years, helping SMEs to recruit, develop, and retain talent. Headquartered in the UK, the Company has 81 offices globally with over 75 per cent
Turkish producer of dried fruit, nuts, seeds and popcorn, Peyman, is set to expand its business with a EUR32 million loan from the EBRD.
The company, owned by Bridgepoint, a major international private equity fund, is building a new production facility in the industrial zone of Eskişehir, a city in north-western Turkey. The EBRD loan, with EUR10 million syndicated to FMO, the Dutch Development Bank, will finance the investment programme.
The new 59,000 sq m plant will become operational in the first half of 2018 and by 2023 it will have doubled the company’s production capacity to 45,000 tonnes.
Perusa Partners Fund II and co-investors have acquired Secura Industriebeteiligungen AG including MÜPRO-Group and UBB GmbH effective 23 January 2018.
MÜPRO Group is a leading provider of building technology solutions for fixing, sound insulation and fire protection applications with annual revenue of 95 million EUR. Its products and solutions are part of many commercial and residential buildings, industrial plants, and aboard ships, especially for the installation of heating, air conditioning and ventilation equipment.
The investment will support MÜPRO-Group`s long term international growth and help it focus on its core competencies of engineering, development, consulting, and project support.
As
Cooley is expanding its Asia-Pacific presence with the launch of a Beijing office, the firm’s 13th worldwide and its second in China, having opened in Shanghai in 2011.
Investment funds lawyer Xun Zeng joins from Ropes & Gray and will be Cooley’s first resident partner in Beijing.
“China is a critical part of Cooley’s global growth strategy, and we are happy to welcome Xun Zeng to our partnership,” says Mike Lincoln, global chair of Cooley’s business department. “We have a history of achievement across the Asia-Pacific region and, in particular, have worked with private investment fund clients over three
Foundry Innovation & Research 1 (FIRE1) has closed a Series C financing totalling EUR40 million.
The financing was led by new investor Glide Healthcare, with the participation of new investors Gimv and Seventure and all existing investors, including Lightstone Ventures, Medtronic, and New Enterprise Associates.
Janke Dittmer, partner at Gilde Healthcare, and Patrick Van Beneden, partner at Gimv, have joined FIRE1’s Board of Directors.
The financing provides FIRE1 with capital to further advance its novel remote monitoring solution to improve outcomes for heart failure patients. Nearly six million Americans live with heart failure, a number that is expected
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