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Small business appetite for long term equity-based finance has increased significantly in the last 12 months during which time demand for traditional bank debt has continued to fall.
According to the Albion Growth Report, commissioned by Albion Ventures, more than two in five (44 per cent) small and medium sized business (SME) owners would consider taking equity finance, up from 34 per cent a year ago.
In 2013 just 12 per cent of SMEs were willing to swap equity for support.
Over a quarter (26 per cent) of business owners would consider a ‘Dragons Den’ style exchange of
European technology has come of age in 2016, with the total M&A deal value more than doubling in the last 12 months to USD127.2 billion, according to M&A advisory firm Magister Advisors.
This was driven by the blockbuster acquisitions of ARM, Supercell and NXP.
There was also a series of transformational mid-market deals, a significant shift for Europe which has traditionally been a hunting ground for consolidation deals. Unprecedented M&A interest from Asian buyers, together with a strong IPO market for the best European tech businesses, has driven the surge in “blockbuster” deals.
According to the review, the
Mid-market private equity investor Equistone Partners Europe has invested in T.O.M. Vehicle Rental, a UK provider of flexible vehicle rental solutions.
Equistone has acquired a majority stake in the company, investing alongside management and the original founder-owner. The financial terms of the investment have not been disclosed.
Founded in 1991, T.O.M. provides long-term, flexible hire of commercial vehicles (vans, trucks, trailers, and cars) to over 900 public and private sector customers. Its rental business comprises 11 hire locations across the UK (six in Scotland and five in England) and is one of only two multi-vehicle rental specialists in this
Burford Capital is to acquire GKC Holdings, the parent of Chicago-based Gerchen Keller Capital, for USD160 million in a combination of cash, Burford shares and loan notes and a further potential USD15 million in performance-based share consideration.
The acquisition will be immediately accretive to earnings per share.
GKC is a law-focused investment manager, registered as an investment adviser with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It currently has USD1.3 billion in assets under management in private investment vehicles, raised from public pensions, financial institutions, university endowments, foundations and family offices.
Burford and GKC are the two largest litigation
Woodall Nicholson, a manufacturer of specialist vehicles for the funeral, public transport and emergency services markets, has secured a substantial investment from BGF (Business Growth Fund).
The funding will support the increased production of its new environmentally friendly, low floor buses at its site in Rochdale, along with the company’s longer term growth plans in its other divisions.
Woodall Nicholson manufactures and sells vehicles under the Coleman Milne, Mellor and Coleman Milne Specialist Vehicles (CMSV) brands, converting vehicles from major OEMs including Mercedes, Ford, BMW, Volkswagen Audi Group, Fiat and Iveco. The company’s origins date back to 1820 when its
World political and economic events could push the level of market volatility higher in 2017, with institutional investors turning to active management and alternative assets to manage risk and boost returns as a result, according to a study by Natixis Global Asset Management.
Natixis surveyed decision makers at 500 institutional investment firms around the world on their market outlook and asset allocation plans for 2017 and beyond. Volatility topped the list of concerns for 2017, with 65 per cent pointing to geopolitical events, 38 per cent citing the US elections, and 37 per cent noting the potential for changing interest
German hotel group Meinninger Hotels and private equity firm VIYM have signed a management agreement which will see Meinninger open its first hotel-hostel hybrid in Russia, as part of VIYM’s Nikolskiye Ryady development in Saint Petersburg.
The overall cost of the Nikolskiye Ryady project, including both hotel properties – the Meinninger Hotel and Holiday Inn Express – is expected to be around USD50 million.
The hotel-hostel hybrid will have 158 rooms, with a total area of 7,300 sq m. The operator is already participating in the drafting of construction blueprints, to ensure that the new property is built in
Vinson & Elkins has promoted eight lawyers to its partnership, effective 1 January 2017.
The eight are Mark Brasher, Jason McIntosh, Becky Petereit, Bailey Pham, Simon Rootsey, Lande Spottswood, Thomas Zentner and Craig Zieminski.
“Our new partners are outstanding attorneys who have shown tremendous dedication to the firm and its clients,” says V&E chairman Mark Kelly. “From the courtroom to the boardroom, each of these exceptional lawyers has demonstrated a high level of skill in their respective practice area. We are thrilled to call them partners.”
The new partners span six of the firm’s key practice areas, including
Independent fund and corporate service provider Crestbridge has appointed Elliot Refson as a director in its Jersey office as it continues to focus on evolving its management company (ManCo) solutions.
A specialist in alternative funds, Refson will join the existing team to develop and promote Crestbridge’s onshore and offshore ManCo services to the global asset management community.
Last year, Crestbridge became one of the first firms in Jersey to be granted a licence by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) to offer a ManCo platform. It was also one of the first to establish a third party ManCo in
HedgePort Associates, an independent C-Suite service provider, has established an advisory board initially including industry veterans Ted Seides and Bill Salus.
The board will assist Hedgeport with strategic initiatives as the company continues its running underlying hedge fund and private equity fund businesses.
Seides co-founded and served previously as president and co-chief investment officer of the multibillion dollar alternative investment firm Protégé Partners. In 2010, he was profiled in Larry Kochard and Cathleen Ritterheiser's book "Top Hedge Fund Investors: Stories, Strategies, and Advice." Prior to Protégé, Seides worked at the J.H. Whitney & Company, Stonebridge Partners, and Yale University Investments Office, where he began
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