 |
 |
Welcome to the October edition of Pilot's Log
Having entered the 4th quarter of 2009, market commentators remain uncertain when the market will improve. Sightings of ‘green shoots’ seem more wishful thinking than indicated by supporting trends. One thing is more certain though; the private equity world is forever changed, and from this downturn will emerge streamlined (and fewer) players, more conservative deal structures, and more emphasis placed on good companies in good sectors with excellent management. > more |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
PILOTpartners specialises in providing executives who have high level expertise in:
Private Equity portfolio businesses
Difficult & distressed situations
Turnaround & restructuring
Change management projects
In Quarter 3 2009 PILOTpartners handled 61 assignments covering interim management, interim to permanent, non executive and commercial due diligence - 22 of which involve UK and US capital invested in Europe
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
Download the full newsletter in PDF format here
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Case Study - PILOTpartners replaces the board
 PILOTpartners client, a mid market private equity firm, had invested in this £75m specialist retail business in 2007 as it had demonstrated solid, above average historic growth and needed an injection of capital to pay out the retiring founder and to invest in an exciting, not to say ground breaking, new online business which eventually was expected to replace its high street presence.
The management team had been retained and a new non executive chairman was appointed by the investor who “had done a good job” in another investee business outside the sector.
Eighteen months later the business had burned its online development budget, had made no impact in terms of market share and shareholder value had been decimated
> more
Subscribe to Pilot's Log
If you're not already a
subscriber
Click here to sign up >>
|
|
|
|
Whether investing or divesting an investment, private equity managers must be vigilant in accurately measuring the pensions risk tied to the deal. Andrew Conquest, a partner in Grant Thornton’s Pension Advisory team, outlines the current pressures of the pensions landscape and how these can affect an investor’s obligations in a reorganisation or disposal. 
In this edition of PILOT’s Log Katherine Steiner-Dicks speaks with Stephen Keating, founder of private equity turnaround fund Privet Capital. He offers his thoughts on the need for private equity to get back to improving businesses; getting hold of underwater stakes; why he is focusing solely in the UK for deal opportunities and what he’d change about the private equity turnaround industry if he could.
Cross border investment opportunities are becoming more attractive as companies are more likely to come on the selling block at realistic prices than be revived through a refinancing. Gordon Clark lends his insight and experience on how to successfully disseminate the cross-border deal process rather than throw in the towel when things start to look tough. "Having worked on cross-border projects covering Europe, the US and Japan over the past ten years the one thing I have learned (with scar tissue to prove it) is that there ain’t no such thing as a single management solution". 