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Foresight Group has invested GBP3 million into Manchester-based Utilities Design & Planning (UDP) from the Foresight Regional Investment Fund.
UDP, a provider of civil engineering and traffic management services, offers inspections, planning works and project management of utilities, sewer connections and highways and rail projects.
The investment will allow the continued expansion of the business throughout adjacent geographies and the ability to capitalise on the significant infrastructure investment in the North West.
UDP was established in 1996 in Salford, Greater Manchester by the current directors David Hilton and Noel Gallagher who will remain with the business as part
Corporate debt specialist Muzinich is launching two funds to be managed by the loans team who recently joined from ECM Asset Management (ECM), a Wells Fargo Asset Management company.
Muzinich announced in the summer that it had hired Torben Ronberg, Stuart Fuller, Sam McGairl and Alex Woolrich, who managed the sub-investment-grade business at ECM.
Ronberg and his team, who took up their posts this week, will now prioritise the launch of a new European senior secured loans vehicle, the Muzinich European Loans Fund.
They are also putting the foundations in place for the launch of a multi-asset vehicle,
Corporate advisory firm Clearwater International has appointed Michael Loudon as a director in its Manchester office.
Loudon has over 10 years' experience in M&A, having acted for a broad range of companies and financial investors.
Loudon has joined the firm from Gleacher Shacklock in London.
Clearwater International’s UK team has completed over 10 per cent more deals in 2016 than in the same period in 2015.
Michael Reeves, managing partner, Clearwater International, says: “We are very pleased to be strengthening our North West presence with the arrival of Michael and are excited about the opportunities that this
Private equity fund manager YFM Equity Partners, alongside private co-investors, has backed the management buyout (MBO) of Ferrabyrne.
YFM's funding includes the second investment from its new YFMEP 2016 Fund, which held a first close in June.
Ferrabyrne designs, develops, manufactures and services systems and components, including rubber and metal for global customers in the rail, commercial vehicle and energy generation industries. Its key products include suspension components for passenger and freight rail vehicles and heavy-duty trucks, as well as components for wind turbines.
Ferrabyrne has 73 employees working at its headquarters in Littlehampton and across the globe.
Jay Bhatt has joined private equity firm Thomas H Lee Partners (THL) as a managing director in THL’s media, information services and technology group.
Bhatt has over 20 years of operating experience in senior leadership positions across the technology sector.
Most recently he was president and CEO of Blackboard, where he was responsible for driving significant sales and EBITDA growth through a strong focus on strategic and operational investments and efficiencies. He spearheaded an upgrade of Blackboard’s technology platform, expanded Blackboard’s international business by 50 per cent, and drove an acquisition approach of domestic and internationally based businesses.
Riordan, Lewis & Haden | Equity Partners (RLH) has invested in Utegration, a provider of consulting, customisation and implementation solutions to the utility industry.
The company helps its clients to upgrade their systems for customer billing and service and to improve the software infrastructure that manages the utility's network of advanced meters at customer locations.
Utegration implements solutions that enhance utility customer satisfaction, achieve regulatory mandates for improvements in service, provide detailed data regarding resource usage by customer, and prepare utilities to address the increasing complexity of the power grid.
SAP, a provider of enterprise-class software to the
Lower middle-market private equity firm MPE Partners has closed its oversubscribed second fund, MPE Partners II, at the hard cap of USD250 million.
The firm launched fundraising in April 2016 and did not use a placement agent.
"More than 30 investors committed to Fund II, including global asset management firms, insurance companies, family offices, foundations, and high net worth individuals," says Joe Machado, partner at MPE.
MPE has invested in companies such as dlhBOWLES, a designer and manufacturer of engineered plastics and fluid flow solutions for the automotive, consumer, and industrial markets; Trachte, a manufacturer of pre-assembled control
Inflexion’s portfolio company Kynetec, a specialist in agricultural and animal health market research, has acquired the agriculture and animal health business of Ipsos North America.
Ipsos agriculture and animal health in North America comprises two locations: St. Louis in the US and Guelph in Canada.
The acquisition brings additional market research expertise to Kynetec’s team, adding 25 experienced professionals to its team of 250 market researchers.
By combining the staff and methodologies from Ipsos agriculture and animal health with Kynetec’s custom team, along with a considerable investment in innovation, Kynetec expects substantial strengthening of its North American business.
IMAX Corporation and IMAX China Holding have completed the first phase of a USD50 million virtual reality fund to help finance the creation of at least 25 interactive VR content experiences over the next three years.
IMAX and its partners, which include leaders from the media, entertainment and technology sectors, will use the funds to aid in the creation of higher-quality VR content that can be leveraged across the burgeoning VR industry.
The group will target premium, event-style productions with its Hollywood studio and filmmaker partners that complement IMAX's film slate, as well as gaming publishers and other content
Assetz Capital says investors have earned a total of GBP15 million in gross interest since the company launched in 2013.
Assetz Capital has been at the forefront of the P2P sector by providing British small and medium sized businesses with their funding requirements.
Individuals can invest in these businesses either through tailored investment accounts, or by manually choosing where their capital is invested.
To date almost GBP180 million has invested through the platform, typically earning investors gross rates of return between 3.75 per cent and 15 per cent per annum.
Each of the businesses receiving funds through
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