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The London IPO market has had as strong a first quarter performance as any seen in the last 20 years, with 24 IPOs (Main Market and AIM) raising cumulative funds of GBP3.9bn, according to EY’s latest IPO Eye.
The retail sector accounted for the lion’s share of activity, with eight IPOs raising cumulative funds of GBP2.4bn, accounting for 60 per cent of total funds raised.
On the main market, there were eight IPOs over the first three months, raising total funds of GBP2.7bn, with five of these listings originating from the retail sector: McColl’s, AO World, Pets at Home,
BaltCap has acquired a controlling interest in Ecoservice UAB, a waste management company in Lithuania.
BaltCap Private Equity Fund II (BPEF II), advised by BaltCap, will control 75 per cent of shares of Ecoservice.
The remaining 25 per cent of shares will remain with previous owner City Service, AB. The value of transaction is EUR14.9m (100 per cent equity value).
“BaltCap’s strategy is to invest in attractive, leading companies with growth potential in the Baltic States. As one of the leaders in the growing recycling services market, Ecoservice meets these criteria. The company has an experienced and ambitious
Lower middle market private equity firm Spire Capital has acquired Accuship.com, Iron Data Solution's transportation spend management division (Iron Data TSM).
Iron Data TSM provides software-enabled transportation spend management solutions allowing global enterprises to optimise their transportation spend.
The company's network of more than 8,000 connections with trading partners and the resulting unique access to timely transportation spend data supports the company's advanced analytics for end-to-end transportation spend visibility and management.
Spire acquired all of the interests of the company from Iron Data Solutions. This marks Spire's third investment in its third fund, Spire Capital Partners III.
Nujira Ltd, a specialist in Envelope Tracking (ET) technology, which improves battery life, boosts signal strength and increases data rates in 4G mobile phones, has raised USD20m (GBP12.2m) of working capital.
The cash will be used to ramp up production of Nujira’s Coolteq chips and support further product development.
Each of the existing angel and major investors participated in the round including CCC Private Equity, Amadeus Capital Partners, Environmental Technologies Fund, SAM Private Equity and NES Partners. In addition, Investec Bank introduced new investors to the company including GAM (on behalf of its GAM Star Technology strategy) and Investec as well
Private investment company Ardian has closed its Expansion Fund III at EUR450m, with EUR50m in co-investments.
The new fund represents a 41 per cent increase in size from Fund II (EUR353m) and comprises investors from Europe, North America and Asia.
European insurance companies and pension funds make up the majority of the fund’s investor base and almost 80 per cent of the commitments come from existing investors.
Ardian’s 16-strong Expansion team now has significant capital for investment in French, Italian and German SMEs. The team focuses on growth capital and buyout transactions through majority or minority investments in
The chemicals team at Clearwater Corporate Finance has advised Caledonia Investments, the London Stock Exchange-listed investment trust company, on the sale of Amber Chemicals to ICM Products.
Amber Chemicals is a manufacturer of speciality silicones for a wide range of niche markets. The group’s product portfolio includes adhesives and sealants, anti-foams, coatings, emulsions, encapsulants, greases, lubricants, moulding rubber, release agents, silicone fluids and silicone foam.
The companies within the Amber Chemical group are ACC Silicones, Amber Silicones (Tianjin), Quantum Silicones, Siovation and Treco Srl.
Headquartered in Michigan, ICM Products is a manufacturer of silicone defoamers, emulsions and polymers
Mirada Medical has received additional funding from Albion Ventures to accelerate the company’s growth plans.
The investment will fuel the expansion of Mirada’s product distribution worldwide and support accelerated product development through the addition of new scientific and engineering positions at its Oxford, UK headquarters.
Mirada’s products are designed to simplify technically complex image quantification, allowing clinicians to confidently diagnose disease, assess response to treatment and plan radiation therapy or surgical intervention.
Albion Ventures is investing a further GBP0.85m Mirada Medical, in addition to new equity which was acquired by the employees and founders of the company. This
Neuberger Berman has appointed Erik Knutzen as multi-asset class chief investment officer.
Knutzen (pictured) joins to deepen the multi-asset class strategic partnerships Neuberger Berman has with institutional investors.
Knutzen will drive the asset allocation process on a firm-wide level and create related client content for strategic partnerships and multi-asset class solutions while joining in portfolio management on a number of mandates.
"Erik's skills and experience complement our existing client partnership capabilities," says Joseph Amato, president and chief investment officer, Neuberger Berman. "Adding a seasoned, senior multi-asset class investor to an already deep capability at the firm helps Neuberger Berman deliver
Ingenious Clean Energy has backed its first anaerobic digestion plant, located on the premises of Thomas Swan, the County Durham-based, family-run specialist chemicals business.
Ingenious Clean Energy has invested GBP4.5m in the project through its investee company, Generation X Energy Ltd.
The investment was financed by the Ingenious Energy Efficiency EIS Fund and is Ingenious’ first anaerobic digestion deal.
The cost of the installation is financed by Ingenious and will be recouped through the sale of heat and electricity to Thomas Swan under long term agreements.
The plant, managed by Generation X, will produce around 8,500MWh of
A new energy “catalyst” fund to support UK companies develop their early stage innovations into commercial successes has been launched with an initial GBP25m funding round.
The Catalyst aims to help transform UK energy technology and help innovative businesses to take advantage of emerging global markets.
It is funded by the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, The Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
The Energy Catalyst is the latest in a range of sector-specific Catalysts and will fund projects from early concept stage through to pre-commercial
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