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Mid-market private equity firm LDC has grown its team in the East Midlands and East of England with the appointment of Simon Peacock as Investment Director and Mikayil Salahov as Investment Manager.
Peacock joins LDC following more than 15 years at Alantra, an investment banking and asset management firm focusing on the mid-market. As a Partner there, he advised companies on both a regional and sector basis, including consumer, industrials and business services, to help ensure the smooth completion of M&A transactions. He also has extensive experience within the food industry, as Director of Food & Drink at Catalyst, prior
Kaiko Systems, a Berlin-based software startup digitizing maritime shipping, has successfully completed a seed financing round of €2 million. The funding round was backed by multiple investors including Schoeller Holdings, Vineta Ventures, A Round Capital, Flagship Founders as well as industry experts such as Clasen Rickmers and Justus Kniffka.
Kaiko Systems helps global shipping companies to digitalise onboard operations of frontline workers, reduce downtime, and increase technical management productivity. The capital infusion will be used to grow its team, further advance its software solution, and expand into new geographies.
Since launching their product in 2021, Kaiko Systems has swiftly won
ICG, a global alternative asset manager, has appointed David Lomer as Head of UK, Nordics & Benelux for its European Corporate strategy, and a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Lomer succeeds James Roddis, who is retiring after 14 years with the firm.
Lomer joins ICG after 24 years with JPMorgan where he helped to build a number of businesses to leadership positions. He was most recently co-head of UK investment banking, having also co-run Mergers & Acquisitions in EMEA from 2015 to 2019 and, prior to that, Telecoms, Media and Technology from 2012 to 2015. He has spent his
Gresham House Ventures, a growth equity investor specialising in digitally-driven businesses in the consumer, healthcare, and service sectors, has committed to a £4.5 million investment in Orri, a specialist clinic for the treatment of eating disorders (ED).
Currently operating from a single site in London, Orri offers both in-person and virtual services, having developed its online offering during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Its recovery-focused programmes fill the gap between primary and inpatient services, offering a step-down model to support the transition back to everyday life in recovery. Orri is rated as an ‘outstanding’ treatment provider by the Care Quality Commission
ECI Partners, a growth-focused mid-market private equity firm, has had a strong 12 months, completing 10 exits and generating an average gross return of 4.2x over the last year.
Together, these exits delivered £1.3 billion of proceeds, and include the recent sale of MiQ, one of the largest global programmatic media partners, for a 6.1x return following a five-year partnership that saw MiQ execute an ambitious North American expansion strategy.
Other recent exits include Bionic, the marketplace for SME services, for a 4.8x return, with Bionic successfully making six acquisitions during ECI’s investment, and Content+Cloud, leading technology services business,
Global corporate finance advisory firm Clearwater International has strengthened its European Debt Advisory team with two new senior appointments. Simon Chambers and Richard Clark join the team as Partners based in the firm’s London office, alongside existing Partner Chris Smith.
They will become part of the European Debt Advisory practice making it one of the largest in Europe with a team of 35, including nine Partners.
Chambers and Clark have worked alongside each other since 2010, initially with DC Advisory. They since established GCA Altium’s UK Debt Advisory Practice in 2014 (now part of Houlihan Lokey).
Chambers has
Claudia Bertolino has been appointed as head of private equity and private credit, Fund Services of the Citco group of companies (Citco) – with a remit of creating widespread operational efficiencies and enacting the firm’s ambitious plans of digitalising its client experience within both PE and PC.
Bertolino has over 20 years’ experience within Citco, spanning senior roles in client service, accounting and business development. She has also been a member of Citco Fund Service’s Management Team for over five years – and will be supported across North America, Europe and Asia by a range of executives. As Citco’s Head
Cello has raised €2.3m in pre-seed funding, in a round led by byFounders, with participation from Tiny VC, Possible Ventures and Notion Capital; together with operator angels from Youtube, Personio, McMakler, and others.
Cello is leading the creation of a new category of ‘User-Led Growth’ — a next evolution in customer acquisition strategies that harnesses existing user base to drive word-of-mouth growth, at a dramatically lower customer acquisition cost (CAC).
Word-of-mouth is a key factor in evaluating traction in early- and growth-stage startups. Despite its importance, the channel is not well understood by founders. Cello aims to give SaaS businesses
AUA Private Equity Partners (AUA), a lower-middle market investment firm focused on family owned, and Hispanic and/or multi-cultural oriented companies within the consumer products and consumer services sectors, has partnered with outsourced Chief Financial Officer, Bridge Alternative Investment Solutions.
The new tie-up will allow AUA to leverage Bridge Alternatives’ expertise in finance, accounting, and technology to maximize performance and reporting.
Bridge Alternatives will serve as AUA’s full back office, including Controller and CFO functions and allow AUA to leverage Bridge Alternatives’ expertise in finance, accounting, and technology to maximise performance and reporting.
Alantra and Enagás, through its affiliate Enagás Emprende, have held the final close of their oversubscribed Energy Transition Fund, Klima Energy Transition Fund (Klima), with €210 million in commitments, above the fund’s initial target of €150 million.
The European Investment Fund, which is a part of the European Investment Bank Group, committed €30 million. Other commitments to the Fund include institutional investors, energy-related companies, public and European institutions, and family offices.
Alantra and its shareholders, Enagás, and the investment team have made a significant joint commitment of approximately €50 million to the fund.
Klima takes minority stakes in companies with
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