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NVM backs Nightingales to soar

Northern Venture Managers has backed a management buy-in at mail order clothing retailer Nightingales, taking a £5 million stake in the business via its portfolio of VCT and private equity funds.

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Deep6 float hoves into view

Broker Seymour Pierce is seeking to raise up £20 million for latter-day treasure hunter Deep6, which plans to use the cash to identify and recover high-value refined metals from deep-water shipwrecks, predominantly in the Atlantic.

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UK investment hits record high

2005 was a record year for the UK private equity industry, with more than £11.7 billion being invested in 1,535 businesses worldwide (up from £9.7 billion in 2004), according to new figures from the British Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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Britain’s cities go wireless

Businesses and consumers inhabiting six major UK cities will soon be able to access high-speed wireless broadband in cafes, parks and shopping centres, courtesy of BT’s new ‘Wireless City’ initiative.

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Women executives: beyond the apprentice

Sir Alan Sugar may have selected 26-year old Michelle Dewberry to be his new apprentice, yet female executives are still struggling to make an impact within UK-listed companies according to new research from GrowthBusiness.co.uk.

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Benchmark seals Ricall deal

Benchmark Capital, an early backer of internet success story eBay, has contributed a multi-million pound investment in commercial music licensor Ricall.

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Matrix enters Blaze

Matrix Private Equity has completed its fourth investment of the year, financing the £5 million secondary management buyout of retail signage specialist Blaze Neon. Producing external and internal signs for a plethora of leading high-street names – including Argos, Tesco and Royal Bank of Scotland.

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Returning Sword cuts AIM swathe

John Sword has returned to the stock market firing line, having successfully pulled in £57 million of new money, at 148p, for engineered steel products play Acertec. Sword is chief executive of the company, which was formed in 1999 to take Hall Engineering private.

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Matrix enters Blaze

Matrix Private Equity has completed its fourth investment of the year, financing the £5 million secondary management buyout of retail signage specialist Blaze Neon. Producing external and internal signs for a plethora of leading high-street names – including Argos, Tesco and Royal Bank of Scotland.

News

Returning Sword cuts AIM swathe

John Sword has returned to the stock market firing line, having successfully pulled in £57 million of new money, at 148p, for engineered steel products play Acertec. Sword is chief executive of the company, which was formed in 1999 to take Hall Engineering private.

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The Apprentice to train SMEs

On the back of the successful BBC television series The Apprentice, training group learndirect business is launching a new training programme aimed at growing firms.

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Debts entrant seeks £8m

Debts.co.uk is looking for a £34 million flotation on AIM in early June in order to tap into the worrying growth in personal insolvencies.

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Rutland cashes in on pawn star

Special situations private equity house Rutland has realised a £44.5 million return on its investment in pawnbroking business H&T, as a result of the company’s £54.2 million AIM float this morning. This represents a 2.9 times return on investment inside of two years.

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Capital pumps funds

Venture capital investor The Capital Fund has directed £250,000 towards the development of a revolutionary low-cost medical pump, developed by PDD Innovations.