Last night unquote” celebrated the achievements of the UK venture capital and private equity industry at its fifth British Private Equity Awards.

The London event was held at Lord’s Cricket Ground and was hosted by Henry Blofeld who presented awards to the thirteen winners.

LAW FIRM – DEAL STRUCTURING – DLA Piper

LAW FIRM – FUND STRUCTURING – Clifford Chance

CORPORATE FINANCIER – Hawkpoint Partners

DUE DILIGENCE SPECIALIST – Ernst & Young

PLACEMENT AGENT – Campbell Lutyens

DEBT PROVIDER – Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets

ALTERNATIVE DEBT PROVIDER – ICG

FUNDRAISING – ECI Partners

VCT MANAGER – Albion Ventures

VENTURE CAPITAL HOUSE – Foresight Group

SMALL BUYOUT HOUSE – Dunedin Capital Partners

MID-MARKET BUYOUT HOUSE – ECI Partners

DEAL OF THE YEAR – Inflexion Private Equity, for Viking Moorings

This new report includes:

Statistical commentary – financing structures, average net debt multiples of European LBOs, average equity contribution to LBOs, 2009 financial covenant amendments v. distressed deals, quarterly value of distressed credits, spreads of senior secured leveraged loans

Typical deal structures 04-09 and Europe’s top most active pe houses and debt providers 

Roundtable discussion with Robin Doumar, Park Square Capital, Michael Johnson, Augusta & Co, Ian Milne, RBS and Gordon Watters, Ares Captial Europe – hosted by unquote’s Emanual Eftimiu

Hitting a debt end – issues of financing continue to loom large but many our still talking up deal opportunities.

Secondary debt  - is the window of opportunity for opportunist investors now closed?

A central theme this morning at the Capital Creation event was remuneration: As bankers worldwide prepare for their compensation packages to shrink, many in the private equity industry are championing maintaining the high levels of salary and bonus paid to executives in the space. In some firms, where remuneration is below market rate, there are even calls to raise it so as to ensure the continuity of the teams.

“Poor performance absolutely affects team retention,” said Peter McKellar, CIO of SL Private Equity. “Why hang around if there is no carry? Those in their early 30s have to look after their own careers, which makes LPs worry who will be left to look after the investments.”

But Nordwind Capital’s CEO Hans Albrecht was very outspoken about the need to keep remuneration low initially, with bumper rewards only paid out after long-term time horizons.

“EUR 250,000-300,000 per head is sufficient to run a fund. They should make money at the end of the day, not now. LPs must not invest in funds where there is too little risk for the GPs.”

Albrecht added that he felt young professionals at firms should re-mortgage their homes to pay their portion of GP contributions if need be, as it demonstrates their true, long-term commitment to LPs.

Not all LPs are convinced by this, however. Rod Selkirk, now at Bridgepoint Development Capital but previously CEO of Hermes Private Equity, explained how this can actually be off-putting: “At Hermes, we once declined to invest in a fund where staff were expected to work six days a week and were only paid small bonuses, as the head believed in this long-term strategy. This should have been music to our ears as LPs, however we feared they would not be able to keep the team together. GP bosses must remember they are recruiting and retaining talent not just from within the private equity industry, but also the entire asset management area. If the economics seem better elsewhere, the talent will go there.”

Albrecht had the last word: “I hope the regulators don’t agree with that.”

Speakers include:

Limited Partners and Fund of Funds are offered complimentary places.

Delegate rates can be found at http://www.italiapecongress.com/book-now.html

To sign up for a complimentary copy of Southern Europe unquote”, sign up at http://www.southerneuropeunquote.com/public/showPage.html?page=unquote_seurope_free_trial

The Asian Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards have been recognizing and rewarding achievement in Asia Pacific private equity and venture capital since the beginning of the decade.

They honor professional excellence, leading funds, great companies and market-transforming transactions. Voted on by funds, professionals and advisors from a shortlist drawn up by a confidential panel of LPs and institutional investors, they are badges of achievement and excellence. 

The Awards themselves will be presented at the exclusive invitation-only dinner and ceremony that begins the 22nd AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum 2009 \ Hong Kong.

Please email requests for clarification or nomination to awards@avcj.com.

“Amid widespread talk in the press of “green shoots” in the wider economy, there have been signs of a positive shift in private equity investment activity. European deal numbers are up by of 7% quarter-on-quarter from 215 deals to 230 in Q2, while the total value of transactions rose by 38% over the three months from just under EUR 3.5bn to €4.8bn.

While the increase perhaps emphasise the steadying of conditions in the banking sector and the improved availability of financing for buyout transactions, it is worth remembering how deep the market has plunged and therefore how far it has to come back. Compared to the first six months of 2008, activity is off by 42% and value by an astounding 85%, while both figures also remain significantly down against what was already an extremely challenging Q4 2008 by 15% and 43%, respectively.

Buyout market bounce

The recovery witnessed over the past three months is largely down to a marked uptick in buyouts as the economy is stabilising, with volume jumping 22% to 56 transactions and value almost doubling to EUR 3.6bn in the second quarter. However, although this marks the end of a year-long negative trend, it should be noted that these figures are significantly below the poor numbers recorded in the final quarter of 2008, while the year-to-date numbers are also just a fraction of those recorded last year.

Although deals valued at more than EUR 1bn remained absent for the second consecutive quarter, sizable deals have made something of a comeback, with EUR 100m+ buyouts returning to double figures after recording a meagre total of six in Q1. A total of 11 deals were completed in the EUR 100-1bn bracket collectively worth EUR 2.4bn, representing more than two-thirds of the overall buyout value total. Almost a quarter of this was accounted for by a single transaction: the EUR 640m secondary buyout of Candover-backed energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie – by far the largest deal recorded so far in 2009.

The small-cap range, covering deals worth under EUR 100m, was also up over the three months, with activity rising 12.5% from 40 deals to 45, while value jumped 25% from EUR 940m to a shade under EUR 1.2bn.

Having been arguably the most resistant market on the continent over the course of the downturn and in Q1 in particular, France again bucked the wider trend by recording a drop in both volume and value of 15% and 63% to 11 deals and EUR 304m, respectively. The UK remained the most active market, rising by one deal for the second quarter in a row to 15 transactions, while it also regained its historic pole position in value terms, witnessing a remarkable five-fold increase to EUR 1.3bn. This, though, was largely driven by the fact that the two largest disclosed deals in Europe occurred in the UK – the Wood Mackenzie secondary buyout and the Irving Place- and Oaktree-led EUR 366m buyout of packaging manufacturer Chesapeake Corporation.”

Summary taken from unquote.com – email nicola.tillin@incisivemedia.com for a copy of the full Q2 09 private equity barometer.

Topics to be discussed include renegotiating convenants and re-structuring portfolio companies to boost profitability, plus 2 excellent LP panels – “Managing investor relations” and “What is dominating the current agenda” looking at :

• assessing the fee structure in PE funds: Is remuneration vs. return balanced?
• evaluating current PE model: Are commitments too long for the PE Investor?
• transparency and disclure best practices and balancing the portfolio
• PE allocations for 2010

For details of delegate places go to http://www.deutschepecongress.com/book-now.html – attendance for LPs is complimentary, subject to qualification

Chairman’s opening remarks: Richard Burton,Partner and Private Equity Leader, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS

Keynote address: Dr. Jörg Kraemer, Chief Economist, COMMERZBANK A

Panel discussion: The private equity market: How has it changed and where the new opportunities lie
• Map out the post credit-cruch private equity landscape
• Evaluate how the D-A-CH private equity market has performed in comparison with other regions in Europe
• Identify strategic investors i.e. Insurance companies and local saving groups in D-A-CH
• Gain insight into the success stories of 2009: Who was able to make deals?
• Gauge investor appetite for PE funds in 2010
• Beyond political discourse: What will stricter regulation and tax will mean to the industry
• 2010: What will it look like?
Hanspeter Bader, Managing Director, Head of Private Equity, UNIGESTION
Dr. Ingo Krocke, Partner, AUCTUS
Jürgen von Wendorff, Board Member, HANNOVER FINANZ
Katrin Brökelmann, Partner, PINOVA CAPITAL

Panel discussion: Lessons from the crisis: Renegotiating covenants and restructuring portfolio companies
• Identify the warning signs to reduce risks in portfolio companies
• Understand how best to deal with covenant breaches
• The correct negotiating strategy: Achieve the best deals when renegotiating loans
• What best practices will you apply in the future?
Moderator: Dr Joachim Englert, Partner, Business Recovery Services, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS
Rainer Effinger, Member of the Management Board, NORD HOLDING
Ernst Ludes, Partner, EQT PARTNERS
Dirk Littig, Investment Director, SÜDDEUTSCHE BETEILIGUNG GMBH
Guy Semmens, Partner, ARGOS

Panel discussion: New ways to make profits: Risk vs. returns in secondaries
• Evaluating the impact of secondaries
• Pricing and valuation of secondaries
• Types of secondaries: Structuring and executing transactions
• Secondaries have boomed during the crisis, is this a long-lasting trend?
Moderator: Philippe Munch, Investment Director, GREENPARK CAPITAL LIMITED
André Aubert, Principal, LGT CAPITAL PARTNERS AG
Gunter Waldner, Principal, ALPINVEST PARTNERS N.V.
Bernhard Engelien, Managing Director, COGENT PARTNERS EUROPE, LLP
Pekka Maki, Managing Partner, 3TS

Joint Presentation: Legal, tax and regulatory framework in Germany: Important issues to spot and consider
Christian Schatz, Partner, SJBERWIN
Sonya Pauls, Partner, SJBERWIN

Panel discussion: Managing investor relations: Effectively dealing with reshuffling of the LP base
• Understand how to ensure investors contribute to the success of the fund
• Succesfully mange intors’ liquidity needs
• What we want from the investment: Are GPs and LPs on the same page?
• Building and keeping investor relations
Martin Prohazka, Partner, Executive Director, GAIN CAPITAL
Dr. Christian Böhler, Investment Director, LODH Private Equity AG
Axel Kuehn, Head of Private Equity Funds Group Zurich, AIG INVESTMENTS
Jeremy P. Golding, Managing Partner, GOLDING CAPITAL PARTNERS GMBH
Sonya Pauls, Partner, SJBERWIN

Presentation: Evaluating new ways of financing deals
• Identify how to use mezzanine finance when structuring deals
• Does investing in all-equity deals make sense?
• Exploring the pros and cons of alternative finance solutions including club deals, warrants, vendor notes

LP Panel: What is dominating the current agenda?
Moderator: Martin Anthonsen, Managing Director, MONUMENT GROUP (UK) LTD.
Hannes Ambacher, Managing Director Private Equity, BANK GUTMANN GROUP
Dr. Bernd Kreuter, Head of Alternative Investments, FERI INSTITUTIONAL ADVISORS GMBH
Michael Lindauer, Managing Director, Head of European Investments, ALLIANZ PRIVATE EQUITY PARTNERS
Peter Schwanitz, Senior Vice President, PORTFOLIO ADVISORS

Panel Discussion: Operational improvement to boost profits in portfolio companies
• Identify which main operational levers are available to improve performance
• Accelerate cash flow to preserve liquidity
• Track success of operational measures in practice
Moderator: Christian Knechtel, Partner, Operational and Post Deal Services, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS
Ernst Ludes, Partner, EQT PARTNERS
Jörg Ulrich,Head of Business Development and M&A, KION
Volker Bonsels, Senior Vice President, DEUTSCHE BETEILIGUNGS AG

Chairman’s closing remarks

Cocktail reception

Go to www.deutschepecongress.com for venue details etc.