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Albion Ventures, an independent investment manager with a long-term record of partnering ambitious business, has rebranded as Albion Capital.
The rebrand reflects the evolution of the Group, encompassing the growth of its venture capital, renewable energy, care home and IP commercialisation businesses, and the successful integration of OLIM Investment Managers, the value-oriented equity specialists acquired in September 2016.
Albion Capital combines decades of investment experience from the Albion Ventures and OLIM teams providing an offering with expertise across the full spectrum of UK equity investing, from early stage start-ups all the way through to FTSE100 companies.
The integration
Increasingly, the search for alpha is pushing asset managers into the furthest corners of financial markets. New asset classes, new instruments and new geographies are conspiring to place huge pressure on pre-existing operating models as managers struggle to cope with the volume of investment data. Whereas previously the front office operated independently from the middle and back office, all three are converging to handle the data management task.
This, in short, is leading to a new investment management operating model; one that is more integrated, front to back. And is, in turn, being supported by service providers. Fund administrators, who
InMotion, Jaguar Land Rover’s mobility services business, has made a USD25 million (GBP19 million) investment in Lyft, the fastest-growing rideshare company in the US.
This investment will support Lyft’s expansion and technology plans. It will also provide Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures with the opportunity to develop and test its mobility services, including autonomous vehicles, and to supply Lyft drivers with a fleet of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.
Sebastian Peck, InMotion Managing Director, says: “We are excited to collaborate with a leading platform like Lyft not only on developing premium mobility solutions but also devising innovative solutions to the
Solteq has acquired inPulse Works Oy. The acquisition will enable Solteq to offer services that meet the varying needs of electricity, district heating and water companies.
The acquisition will also strengthen Solteq’s current BI and analytics expertise and open new opportunities in the sector-independent BI and analytics market. inPulse Works Oy’s products and services digitalise customer engagement and business processes. The company offers its clients digital services related to the customer interface, invoicing and customer data systems, electricity sales management systems, and BI and analytics solutions.
The acquisition is in line with the strategy revision that Solteq announced in
Munich-based Fidelium Partners has held the successful closing of its debut special situations fund. The oversubscribed EUR 103m Fidelium Holdings Fund attracted a selected group of German business families.
The Fidelium team members have also made a significant financial commitment to the fund.
A spokesperson for Fidelium Partners says: “We are extremely excited and grateful for the support and confidence by our limited partners, entrusting us to steward and invest their capital. We now look forward to capitalising on our team’s extensive network and track record, targeting to build-up a portfolio of 10-15 attractive investments over the next years.”
River Associates Investments (RAI), a longstanding lower middle market private equity firm, has held the successful closing of its seventh committed capital investment fund, River VII, LP, with total commitments of USD285 million.
Raised in approximately eight months, the fund was oversubscribed and exceeded the original USD250 million target.
Commitments to River VII came from well-respected university endowments, public company pension plans, insurance companies and family offices, a number of whom were investors in previous River Associates’ funds. Consistent with prior funds, the partners of River Associates have made significant personal capital commitments to River VII.
River VII
Over half of private equity LPs expect their infrastructure to suffer a serious cyber-attack within five years – a sharp rise on the one in twenty LPs who have suffered attacks in recent years, according to Coller Capital’s latest Global Private Equity Barometer.
Heightened security concerns will also affect LPs’ relations with their GPs: around half of investors say they will require cyber risk assessments both for GP management companies and for fund portfolio companies within the next few years.
Most LPs concede that their private equity returns could be improved by making changes to their own organisations, with
European venture capital house Octopus Ventures is celebrating its tenth anniversary this month. Founded in 2007 with an initial fund of just GBP30 million, investing GBP10 million a year, Octopus Ventures now manages in excess of GBP660 million and invests GBP100 million per year.
Octopus Ventures invests across a range of sectors and specifically looks to back unusually talented entrepreneurs intent on building large, often global businesses. It now invests in businesses at differing phases of their lifecycle, from startups at the earliest stages of their formation through to companies in the later stages of growth and maturity.
Law firm Howard Kennedy has advised the selling shareholders, and separately the incoming and existing management team, on the multi-million-pound investment from Rutland Partners into the Aston Barclay Group.
The transaction paves the way for a significant investment in the business which will consolidate it as the UK’s leading national independent vehicle remarketing provider. The MBO was led by new chief executive officer Neil Hodson, with Glenn and David Scarborough, the former managing director and commercial director respectively, remaining shareholders and non-executive directors.
The Howard Kennedy team advising the selling shareholders was led by Corporate Partner Gillian White and
The Private Equity Wire Global Awards 2017, presented on 9 June in London, recognised the best private equity fund performers and service providers during 2016 in a range of categories covering the entire private equity space.
The winners of the awards, who were determined by readers of Private Equity Wire, are:
Best Debt Provider of The Year (Alternative) – Star Mountain Capital LLC
Best Debt Provider of The Year (Bank) – Investec
Best AIFM-Ready Fund Administrator – Augentius
Best Placement Agent of the Year – Asante Capital
Best Legal Adviser of the Year – Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Best Law Firm
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