The latest in funds and investments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Maven Capital Partners
Maven Capital Partners (“Maven”) has held the final close of a buyout fund, drawing £100 million ($132.3 million) in total commitments from high net worth syndicates, family offices, fund of funds and other entities.

The Maven UK Regional Buyout Fund LP looks at MBO opportunities in companies across the UK with an enterprise value of £10 million to £40 million, aiming to invest between £5 million and £15 million in each transaction.

So far, the fund has put almost £30 million to work in three transactions, supporting the MBOs of John McGavigan Ltd, UAP Ltd and Acton Banks Ltd, with equity investments of £10.25 million, £8.6 million and £9.65 million respectively. 

The fund is Maven’s first institutional fund and, alongside its existing venture capital trust and other client funds, it brings the firm’s total funds under management and ready to invest to £630 million.

Invesco
Invesco has launched two exchange-traded funds that give exposure to UK government bonds, aka gilts.

The new Invesco UK Gilt ETFs offers investors the choice of short-term or broad exposure. One fund concentrates on gilts with maturities of one to five years and the other offers exposure across the full maturity spectrum of up to 55 years. Both funds will be available in GBP with ongoing charges of 0.06 per cent per annum.

“Investors, particularly in the UK, are faced with political uncertainty around Brexit, as well as more general questions about the economy, interest rates, currencies and equity markets. For investors who want to take some risk off the table, or simply diversify their portfolios, UK government bonds may offer an attractive solution,” Paul Syms, head of EMEA ETF Fixed Income Product Management at Invesco, said.

The new ETFs will invest directly in the constituents of the relevant Bloomberg Barclays UK Gilt Index, targeting a full replication. These indices comprise sterling-denominated, fixed-rate, nominal debt issued by HM Treasury.