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UK and Ireland: November 2001

BVCA highlights the positive impact of VC, 20-partner rule to be abolished, CDOs to be rated, Schroder Ventures becomes Permira, CGNU ups private equity allocation…

BVCA welcomes UK government's latest enterprise proposals
The British Venture Capital Association has enthusiastically welcomed the UK government's latest package of measures designed to promote enterprise. It singled out Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's proposals to extend the taper on capital gains tax relief, more generous share options allowances, and bigger tax breaks on research and development. The new measures are likely to be introduced from April 2002.
AltAssets 28.11.01

Barclays pledge for VC
Having recently shut 171 rural branches, Barclays is seeking to restore its reputation in provincial Britain by committing more than £66m to VC funds run by regional development agencies. Part of this initiative has been reflected in a £200m committed to a new Urban and Regional Economic Unit aimed at regeneration.
Venturedome 21.11.01

UK VC confidence at lowest ebb on record
UK venture capitalists are more downbeat than ever about the prospects for their investee companies, deal activity, and the availability of new funds, according to the latest Deloitte & Touche Private Equity Confidence Survey. The despair being felt by UK VCs is being felt equally, and sometimes more intensely, by their European counterparts. The real turning point in the current downtrend in optimism will not be reached until there are clear signs that the prospect for exits are improving.
AltAssets 26.11.01

CDO performance to be rated
In a move welcomed by CDO managers, Fitch is to launch a CDO performance assessment. The programme is to provide investors with measures and monitoring of CDO asset manger capabilities and to create a league table based on individual managers performances. The recent growth in global CDO, which has averaged $140bn annually over the last three years, has led to a number of organisations becoming involved in CDO asset management.
PrivateEquityOnline 8.11.01

BVCA report highlights positive contribution of private equity on UK economy
Private equity firms have made a strongly positive contribution to the UK economy, according to a report produced for the British Venture Capital Association by Bannock Consulting. The research starkly contradicts the historical reputation of private equity firms as being asset-strippers, only in the business for the short term. The BVCA has long been trying to improve the reputation of the industry and correct misapprehensions that still hang over from the 1980s about the ruthlessness of the industry.
AltAssets 23.11.01

Unilever may set up a standalone venture capital fund
Consumer goods giant Unilever is thinking about setting up its own venture capital fund to invest in and develop interesting ideas that do not immediately fit in with its core businesses. The firm's disappointing record incubating its own potential spin-offs has prompted the firm to look at joining forces with an established private equity group.
Financial Times 26.11.01

Quester to launch UK venture capital trust with £25m target
UK-based venture capital firm Quester is to launch its fifth venture capital trust at the start of December with a target of £25m.The firm's director John Spooner said that lower prices meant it was now the perfect moment to start investing. Quester VCT 5 will be a generalist fund investing in a diversified spread of unquoted growth companies, with a particular focus on companies in the IT sector and healthcare and life sciences.
AltAssets 22.11.01

UK government prepares to scrap 20-partner rule
The UK government has taken a step closer to scrapping the cap on the number of partners permitted in limited partnerships by acknowledging the historical ceiling of 20 is redundant. It will now prepare the way to amend the existing legislation. Scrapping the cap on limited partners was one of the recommendations made by Paul Myners in his Treasury-sponsored review of institutional investment earlier this year.
AltAssets 14.11.01
 
Schroder Ventures Europe changes name to Permira
UK-based private equity firm Schroder Ventures Europe has changed its name to Permira. The word is Latin for ‘very surprising' or ‘very different' and apparently reflects the group's distinctive approach to the private equity business. The name change is the most conspicuous part of its ongoing rebranding exercise, which follows its gradual separation from its parent - the fund management group Schroders.
AltAssets 12.11.01

BVCA's Truell urges private equity firms to support moves for greater transparency
Edmund Truell, chairman of the British Venture Capital Association urged his fellow members to improve the private equity industry's reputation among institutional investors for transparency and clarity. Truell has warned his members not to delay delivering bad news to investors, which he said would only end up damaging their reputation in the long term. He also emphasised the strong contribution that the industry had made to the UK economy, with venture-backed firms now employing in excess of 2.7 million people and responsible for attracting £6bn in inward investment every year. 
AltAssets 9.11.01

CGNU to increase private equity allocation
Giant UK life assurance company CGNU is to increase its allocation to private equity from the present level of around one per cent. The firm is believed to have been persuaded to up its exposure by the strong performance of its existing private equity investments, managed by its subsidiary Morley Fund Management.
AltAssets 29.11.01

Ross Goobey attacks the way private equity managers get paid
Alistair Ross Goobey, chief executive of Hermes Pensions Management, attacked the giant fees earned by some private equity managers and called for a rethink about the way they reward themselves. He said private equity managers seemed to think that their success generating returns in recent years had been entirely their own work and nothing to do with the exuberance of public markets. The annual management fee charged by GPs can reach as much as 2.5 per cent on committed funds as well as 20 per cent of the profits.
AltAssets 8.11.01