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CVC Capital Partners (CVC) has agreed to sell Leslie’s Holdings, an omni-channel pool supplies retailer in the US, to L Catterton and an affiliate of GIC. The transaction is subject to standard regulatory approvals, and financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.   Founded in 1963, Leslie’s is the world’s largest retailer of swimming pool supplies and related products.   Funds advised by CVC made an investment in Leslie’s in September 2010. During CVC’s ownership period, Leslie’s has grown its store base from 645 to nearly 900 locations and completed six acquisitions that have expanded the company’s geographic
Law firm Howard Kennedy has advised Chinese group Kuang-Chi on its first investment in the UK – a GBP30 million investment into aerospace engineering company Gilo Engineering Group. The investment was completed and announced on 16 January.   Kuang-Chi is headquartered in Shenzhen, China and is focused on future technologies. Through its Global Community of Innovation, Kuang-Chi has made investments and owns businesses across the globe employing some 2,600 people in aerospace, smart cities, AI, and wireless communication technology.     Among its products are airships providing reliable and powerful wireless internet connections that are also able to carry heavy payloads,
London-based partner Tim Elliott has relocated to co-lead the CMS’s Hong Kong office together with German CMS partner Nicolas Wiegand. Elliott will to build out CMS’ finance capabilities in the region alongside its newly established disputes offering.   The firm obtained its Hong Kong license in September 2016, and will initially be focusing on those product areas with one of its key aims in 2017 to strengthen its capabilities in asset finance and energy finance.   Elliott says: “We have for some time been pressed by our existing clients and contacts in the region to provide more on the ground
Fraud, cyber and security incidents are now the “new normal” for financial services companies across the world, according to the executives surveyed in the 2016/17 Kroll Annual Global Fraud and Risk Report. Nearly nine in 10 (89 per cent) executives in the sector reported that their company fell victim to fraud in the past year, highlighting the serious threat to corporate reputation and regulatory compliance.   Theft of physical assets is the most prevalent kind of fraud suffered in the sector, reported by 39 per cent of respondents. This is followed by vendor, supplier or procurement fraud (32 per cent).
Kirkland & Ellis International has appointed Paula Liu as a partner in firm’s corporate practice group in Shanghai. Liu concentrates her practice on M&A transactions with a particular focus on private equity.   “Paula has built a reputation as one of the leading young corporate and private equity lawyers in Shanghai,” says David Zhang, a senior partner in Kirkland’s Asia corporate practice group. “She is a talented lawyer and an important addition to our Shanghai office as we look to further strengthen the firm’s China corporate practice.”   Liu joins Kirkland from the Shanghai office of Clifford Chance, where she
Independent Growth Finance (IGF), a commercial finance provider for SMEs, has provided a GBP3 million confidential invoice discounting facility to oil and gas exploration consultancy firm, EPI Group. This facility enables EPI to implement its diversification strategy into new services alongside its continuing geographical expansion.   EPI has 30 years’ experience in delivering exploration and production consultancy services to the oil and gas industry, supporting clients with their seismic surveys, environmental projects and wellsite operations. Headquartered in the UK, it has offices in the US, Australia, Russia, France, Ghana and South America.   Through the recent acquisition of geoscience consultancy,
Charles Owen, CoInvestor
The team behind alternative investments platform CoInvestor have launched an online service, EISWallet.com, allowing investors and their financial advisers to record and manage all of their Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and unlisted investments digitally. The service, which is free to use and currently in beta phase, aims to take the hassle out of managing income tax relief as well as any capital gains implications from investing in EIS and other unlisted investments.   Instead of trawling through paperwork as the self-assessment tax return looms, investors can store details of their investments and upload share and EIS certificates to their EIS
Law firm Howard Kennedy has reaffirmed its market leading position in the UK venture capital trust (VCT) market, acting for 14 of the 18 VCTs coming to market in the 2016/17 financial year. The 14 funds advised by the firm are collectively seeking to raise GBP309 million, with all 18 funds seeking to raise GBP398 million.    Howard Kennedy remains the only English law firm to be able to act as both sponsor and legal adviser to VCTs through its wholly owned FCA authorised subsidiary, Howard Kennedy Corporate Services. The firm has over the past five years acted for 80 per
Private equity and alternative asset investment firm HIG Capital has completed an investment in a real estate portfolio comprising a shopping centre in Piedmont and an office building in the Milan metropolitan area. Financial terms have not been disclosed.   The shopping centre "Le Isole" of Gravellona Toce (VCO) is dominant in its catchment area and comprises approximately 8,500 sq m of gross leasable area.   The office building is located in Vimodrone (MI) in the Eastern periphery of Milan. It comprises approximately 12,000 sq m and it is fully leased to international tenants.   Riccardo Dallolio, managing director at
Quercus Assets Selection’s Quercus Renewable Energy Fund has completed the sale of its stake in ForVEI, a joint venture comprising Quercus Renewable Energy, VEI Capital, Foresight Solar VCT and Adenium Solar Energy. ForVEI operates in the private equity, infrastructure and energy sectors in Italy.   Quercus initially invested EUR8 million in ForVEI in 2011, and at the time of its disposal late in December 2016, owned a stake close to 10 per cent in the joint venture. The sale generated an IRR of higher than 9 per cent for Quercus and it represents the first disposal by the Quercus Renewable

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