Intermediate Capital on the hunt for banking sector assets
BUYOUT lender Intermediate Capital Group said it would stay on the lookout for investment opportunities as banks, weakened by the debt crisis, look to shed assets.
In August, Intermediate Capital bought a €1.4bn (£1.2bn) portfolio of European loans from Royal Bank of Scotland, and the company said yesterday that the sector would throw up further opportunities for deals next year.
“We’ll look at opportunities in the banking sector in general,” chief executive Christophe Evain said, adding the situation in Ireland, whose banks have been battered by the country’s sovereign debt crisis, “might become interesting”.
The company, which specialises in providing mezzanine financing, said it was also targeting growth in its fund management division and rising profits as gains made on its investments boosted its first half.
Pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 September rose to £105.1m, against £97.7m in the previous six months, and more than 10 times the year-earlier figure.
Finance director Philip Keller said the company’s second-half performance would be “fairly similar” to that of the first half, but added that it might not make the same level of capital gains.