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Chris Cummings, CEO of TheCityUK, welcomes UK Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget Statement…
The reductions in both corporation tax and personal tax announced today send a strong signal that the ‘open for business’ sign over the UK is well and truly lit.
Announcing a future reduction in the top rate of tax to 45p is a step in the right direction. The high personal tax rate is the number one issue on everyone’s lips wherever I am in the world. The Chancellor must do all he can to create a competitive, business friendly environment to attract global firms to the UK.
The management team of corporate travel company, TD Travel Limited, has completed a buyout of the business backed by LDC, the leading mid-market private equity investor, for an undisclosed sum.
TD Travel, which was established over 25 years ago and has sales of GBP45m, specialises in providing personalised business travel consultancy and booking services to over 500 companies. It employs a team of 60 experienced consultants across its offices in Wilmslow, Hull, Liverpool and Leeds and it is one of the UK’s leading independent corporate travel management companies.
Its consultants help customers save money on their travel expenditure by advising
Foresight VCT has completed a growth capital investment of GBP1.25m in Biofortuna Limited, the UK-based molecular diagnostics company.
Biofortuna has developed a unique range of molecular diagnostic products using proprietary freeze-dried technology. Current genetic tests are stored and transported frozen and are required to be carefully thawed and mixed prior to the addition of patient DNA.
Biofortuna’s uniquely designed and stabilised tests can be stored and transported at ambient temperature, eliminating the need for fridges, freezers and temperature controlled shipping. As all reagents are included premixed and freeze dried, the end user is only required to add the patients DNA
Index Ventures has launched its first fund solely dedicated to making investments in the life sciences sector.
This EUR150m fund includes investments from several of Index’s largest existing limited partners and two companies, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the venture capital affiliate of the Janssen pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen).
With this investment in the fund, the two global pharmaceutical companies will share their expertise by participating in the scientific advisory board (SAB) of the fund. Index will maintain full decision making rights to the portfolio companies and the fund rules and procedures will follow previous Index Ventures funds. This
Axiom Asia Private Capital Management Services, has held the first and only closing of investors in its third fund, Axiom Asia Private Capital Fund III. The fund’s total investor commitments of USD1.15 billion exceeded the initial target of USD950 million.
Axiom Asia Private Capital Fund I, which made its first investment in 2006, raised USD440m of investor commitments. Axiom Asia Private Capital Fund II also closed at its hardcap of USD950 million of investor commitments, and commenced investing in January 2009. Axiom III will continue its predecessor funds’ strategy of investing in a portfolio of management buyout, venture capital, growth
Investcorp, in partnership with existing management, has acquired GL Education Group (GLE), formerly Granada Learning Group, the UK provider of non-regulated pupil and school assessment solutions for primary and secondary schools, from private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Based in London and founded in 1981, GLE provides assessment products and services used by teachers to measure students’ core abilities and to take decisions about their learning paths. The company comprises two business units, GL Assessment and GL Performance, which, together, deliver to more than 15,000 schools the tools to help raise standards
Emerging markets funds continue to capture a larger slice of the global private equity (PE) fundraising pool, reaching 15% of new commitments globally in 2011, up from 11% in 2010.
Led by China and Brazil, fundraising for emerging markets PE in 2011 grew by 64% year on year, reaching a 3-year high of USD38.6 billion, according to the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA). In the same year, 876 private equity and venture capital deals valued at USD26.9 billion were completed in the emerging markets, representing 11% of invested PE capital globally.
“The trend toward increased LP commitments to emerging
Mid-market private equity investor Equistone Partners Europe Limited has invested in Audley Travel (Audley), the bespoke travel specialist, for an undisclosed sum.
The Oxfordshire-based company, founded as Asian Journeys in 1996, is the UK’s leading tailor-made travel business, offering tours and safaris for the discerning traveller. Audley’s holidays are tailor-made to the customer’s individual requirements by experienced consultants who have detailed first-hand experience of the countries in which they specialise. Whether it is organising a cultural tour of Japan, trekking in Peru or a safari in Botswana, Audley aims to meet and exceed clients’ expectations. The firm is committed to
MMC has launched a second Growth Generation Fund – the only EIS venture capital fund targeted specifically at young investors. MMC’s first fund, raised in 2010, is now filly invested.
The new fund is aimed at investors aged 18-35 with GBP2,500 to GBP10,000 to invest. Investors in the Growth Generation Fund benefit from EIS tax relief and a portfolio of high growth UK companies.
Rory Stirling (pictured), investment director at MMC, says: “We believe this generation plays a vital role in growth, innovation and the wider economic recovery effort in the UK. Venture capital investing has typically only been
Several of August & Debouzy’s teams advised Beezik and its shareholders on its merger with Ebuzzing.
Beezik is a French company specialising in free and legal music downloading. It owns the BeeAd platform, which specialises in publishing video ads on media sites. Ebuzzing, specialises in the distribution of video ads through social media.
Thanks to their complementary offers, BeeAd and Ebuzzing’s merger will create a new European leader for online video advertising.
BeeAd will become a Business Unit of the Ebuzzing Group and will continue to operate under its own brand in Europe. The leading free and legal
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