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UK Barclays Private Equity continues spending spree with fourth deal in two weeks

Barclays Private Equity, the mid-market buy-out arm of the UK bank, has sealed its fourth deal in two weeks with the E44m buy-out of software company, NCC Group. Barclays has acquired a 65 per cent stake in the business.

The deal provides UK private equity firm ECI, formerly known as ECI Ventures, with a strong return on its initial investment in NCC group. ECI led the initial buy-out from National computing Centre in 1999 in a £6m deal.

‘The NCC group is already proven as an industry leader,' said Tony Hyams who headed the transaction for Barclays Private Equity. ‘It has strong continuing potential, particularly in an economic climate where companies have higher business risks thus necessitating stronger support systems.'

The deal comes a week after Barclays Private Equity acquired a 30 per cent stake in French SP Metal. Other recent transactions include an E100m deal to acquire a minority stake in Italian food distribution unit Marr and £147m buy-out of Royal & SunAlliance's healthcare and assistance insurance business.

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