Poll: Brexit won’t lead to financial services brain drain September 26, 2018 Just 630 UK finance jobs have moved abroad since the Brexit vote, a Reuters poll found today. It contrasts fears voiced immediately after the vote that leaving the EU could badly damage the UK’s financial services sector. Read more: Brexit: Rees-Mogg tells businesses to accept customs delays Reuters’ poll of 134 financial giants found [...]
UK private equity deals slump as Europe hits post-crisis high September 25, 2018 UK private equity deals slumped over the last three months while European buyouts hit a post-crisis high, according to new statistics. There were 46 buyouts of UK companies in the third quarter of this year, down on the previous three months, which was the most successful period for volume and value since 2007. Just €19bn (£17.01bn) of deals have been completed [...]
BBC weather forecaster Meteo Group acquired by Swiss private equity company TBG AG September 24, 2018 BBC weather forecaster Meteo Group has been bought by Swiss private equity company TBG AG. The agency has the largest private weather measurement network in Europe, and offers solutions for industries including shipping, transport, media, energy and insurance. Read more: Online retail to be Next's summertime saviour as hot weather boosts sales Year-to-date bookings grew by [...]
Versace set to walk the runway with rumoured sale ‘within hours’ September 24, 2018 Shares in fashion brand Michael Kors are down more than eight per cent on rumours that it is in talks to buy Versace. Fashion kingpin Versace is rumoured to be “within hours” of being sold, according to Italian news reports which emerged early this morning. Newspaper Corriere della Sera, which has cited unnamed sources, [...]
Vicious cycle: Bike chain in hunt for rescue buyer as retail woes loom September 20, 2018 Cycle Evans is ramping up efforts to find a buyer amid mounting fears that the retailer could be the latest victim of this year’s high street bloodbath. Potential bidders for the embattled bicycle chain have been asked by advisers to put forward any final takeover offers by the end of next week, according to Sky [...]
Fund management consolidation to increase say private equity executives September 18, 2018 Fund management consolidation is set to increase as firms attempt to grow their asset base in order to compete for deals, according to a survey of top private equity executives. Heavy competition for deals is pushing private equity firms to build scale by merging with other firms, which allows companies to reduce costs and expand [...]
Corporate advisory firm Moorgate Capital in court battle with private equity fund HIG European Capital Partners September 16, 2018 Corporate advisory firm Moorgate Capital and private equity fund HIG European Capital Partners are locked in a court battle over an alleged unpaid £1m fee. Moorgate alleges that HIG had promised to pay Moorgate £1m in the event it acquired printing firm Bezier, which HIG did in 2011. Read more: Lloyds Bank private equity arm [...]
City’s elite Magic Circle law firms under pressure from expansion of US entrants September 16, 2018 "The likes of Cazenove were great UK banks, seemingly unassailable on the world stage, but slowly and surely every single one was taken over, they all fell to the might of the US banks,” says White & Case corporate partner Guy Potel, “and it might be that something similar is happening in the legal industry.” The reshaping [...]
Carlyle Group to buy insurance service Sedgwick for £5.1bn September 12, 2018 Private equity firm The Carlyle Group has acquired US insurance claims service provider Sedgwick for $6.7bn (£5.1bn). Current majority shareholder KKR will exit the group and Stone Point Capital, CDPQ and Sedgwick management will remain minority shareholders when the deal coses later this year. Read more: Plastic packaging giant RPC confirms buyout talks with Apollo and Bain [...]
Private equity gets boost from small Brit firms August 31, 2015 PRIVATE equity investment into UK small and medium sized firms hit a two year high in the first half of 2015, according to figures, underscoring the insulation small British outfits enjoy from global headwinds. Turmoil in the Eurozone sparked by the Greek debt crisis and ongoing fears over a slowdown in China have hit larger [...]