Praesmo are pleased to announce the placement of Tim Duffy as Chairman for Accrosoft. In August, Foresight Group completed one new investment totalling £1.7 million in Accrosoft, which offers Software as a Service (“SaaS”) products targeted at companies in the recruitment and education sectors. Tim was previously the founder of MeetingZone, a business he successfully

Online garden retailer, Primrose, has been acquired by Rockpool Investments through a management buyout. Primrose sells a range of over 10,000 garden and outdoor leisure items. Providing loan finance and equity of £3m to £12m, Rockpool has previously backed Hartley Botanic, the greenhouse manufacturer based in Lancashire. The deal has also been part-financed by OakNorth

Two weeks ago, Aaron Henning, Praesumo Partner, and his friend, John Penn took on the challenge of a lifetime as they travelled 150 miles in 48 hours on three modes of transport. The Rat Race Coast to Coast weekend was a gruelling 150-mile challenge that involved them running, bike riding and kayaking across the Scottish

Private schools operator Cognita has been sold by KKR and Bregal Investments to Jacobs Holding, a Swiss investment firm. According to reports, the schools group (including debt) will be sold for £2bn (€2.2bn). Operating throughout eight countries and with more than 70 schools, Cognita has over 40,000 students enrolled. Founded in 2004 by Bregal, the

  T minus: 7 days and counting! Two men, 150 miles, 48 hours and three modes of transport… And it’s all happening NEXT weekend! Having set their targets fairly high, Aaron Henning, Praesumo Partner, and his friend, John Penn are set to take on the huge challenge of the Rat Race Coast to Coast Weekend

Costa coffee is set to be bought by Coca-Cola as the current owner, Whitbread sell for £3.9bn Having bought Costa in 1995 for just £19m, Whitbread have chosen a straight sale rather than the intended spin off as a separate firm, which was more profitable for the coffee chain that is now the biggest in

The first independent UK franchisee of coffee giant Starbuck, 23.5 Degrees, has been invested in by Connection Capital in it’s second backing. This investment of £3.6m follows the growth capital investment of £5.6m in 2015. This follow-on capital, along with new bank finance, is ear-marked to fund expansions plan for 23.5 Degrees. The growth plans

Yesterday it was announced that UK insurance business, esure, has reached an agreement with Bain Capital who will take the company private for £1.2bn. Bain, have offered 280 pence per share, and HarbourVest, Lexington Partners and LGT funds have also provided minority investments as part of the deal. Peter Wood, esure’s chairman and founder, who

A provider of managed print services based in Hertfordshire, Mode Print Solutions, has been backed by Connection Capital with a management buyout of £20.5m (€22.3m) £8.1m has been put forward to fund the deal by Connection’s network of private investors with £11m debt facilities provided by Clydesdale Bank. Working with SMEs across London and the South

Following on from our recent fundraising update, we are delighted that the fundraising for St George’s Crypt bug has continued to grow, has swept through the office and turned into a full family affair! Below, Katie Haxton, Praesumo Office Manager, tells us about the sporting achievement her four-year-old son completed in aid of our charity