James Taylor

In its six years as owner of Rosemont Pharmaceuticals, CBPE helped the business to overhaul its manufacturing process, expand its product line and bolster its management team – more than doubling EBITDA in the process.

The big news at Big Shop this month was a surprise visit from Our Lord And Master, John T. Leviathan.

European venture has disappointed investors for a decade. But many believe the prospects for this segment of the market have never been better – and funding is starting to concentrate around a few managers who seem to have the models to take advantage. Accel Partners’ European arm, which has just closed a $475m fund, is emerging as one of the best of its breed – and in Sonali De Rycker, it boasts a partner described in some quarters as ‘the best VC in Europe’. James Taylor went to meet her, to ask why LPs should believe that this time will be different...

First Round bows to nobody in its admiration for US procedural TV drama, so it felt a sense of personal vindication recently when news emerged that Goldmans Sachs Capital Partners had offloaded its 50 percent stake in the ‘CSI’ TV franchise for a whopping $400 million.

In March, the great and good of UK private equity descended on the Victoria & Albert Museum for the valedictory fundraising dinner of the Private Equity Foundation, an industry-backed group that supports and develops youth charities. As ever, the highlight was the blind auction, where guests bid generously for prizes donated by various buyout firms and managers.

As you scan the pages of this august publication, dear Reader, First Round knows just what you’re thinking. Oh yes. You’re thinking: gosh, I miss seeing Mitt Romney’s tanned and chiselled features on these pages every single cotton-picking month without fail. What’s that? Oh.

If a placement agent could be completely frank with their client ahead of a fundraising round, what would they say? PEI imagines what a brutally honest memo would look like.

Stevenson James has hired Josephine Defty in a bid to take advantage of GPs' growing need for high-calibre IR professionals in a tough fundraising market.

Stevenson James has hired Josephine Defty in a bid to take advantage of GPs' growing need for high-calibre IR professionals in a tough fundraising market.

The London arm of US-based VC group Accel Partners has bucked the dismal fundraising trend for European venture by racing to its target, thanks to strong support from US investors.