Global private markets asset manager HarbourVest Partners has opened a new office in Zurich, marking its fifth EMEA office and its fourteenth globally. 

The new Zurich office will provide Swiss institutional and private wealth clients with access to private equity, private credit and real assets/infrastructure investments as well as separately managed accounts. HarbourVest has previously invested in, and managed capital for Swiss pension funds, insurance companies, wealth advisors, private banks and family offices. 

It will be led by managing director Simon Jennings, who also leads the firm’s private client activities in EMEA and APAC. Jennings joined in 2017 and helped launch the firm’s private equity open-ended evergreen fund for non-US institutional and high-net-worth investors. 

In a statement, Peter Wilson, Managing Director at HarbourVest Partners, described Switzerland as offering a “sophisticated market for the continued growth of private markets”. 

HarbourVest managed more than $125bn in AUM as of 31 December. The firm works across global primary funds, secondary transactions, direct co-investments, real assets/infrastructure and private credit. 

Private equity giant Blackstone is nearing the final stages of negotiations to acquire a minority stake in Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns West End venues such as the Duke of York’s and Lyceum theatres, according to a report by Sky News.  

The deal will see Blackstone acquire a 10% to 15% stake from TEG, an Australian live entertainment and ticketing company that invested in ATG during the pandemic.  

Providence Equity Partners, ATG’s majority owner since 2013, had contemplated a sale prior to the pandemic but was thwarted by the ensuing closures of theatres and live entertainment venues. ATG has maintained its prominence despite these challenges, operating around 60 theatres across the UK and internationally.  

In 2021, ATG expanded its footprint by acquiring the Golden Gate Theatre and Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, as well as the Fisher Theatre in Detroit. Last year, it bolstered its US operations by merging with Jujamcyn Theaters. 

ATG faces competition from notable entities like Lord Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group and billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik’s Theatre Royal Haymarket. The valuation of ATG in Blackstone’s impending deal remains undisclosed, but Providence initially acquired the company for £350m over a decade ago. In 2022, ATG reportedly sought to refinance approximately £1.2bn of debt.  

Financial records for its parent company, International Entertainment Holdings, indicate a record operating profit of £120.5m for the year ending March 25, 2023, with advance ticket sales surpassing pre-COVID levels.  

ATG’s venues host blockbuster productions like Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, Les Miserables and Wicked. The company was founded in the 1990s by Sir Howard Panter and Dame Rosemary Squire. ATG is currently led by Ted Stimpson, who succeeded Mark Cornell, and employs over 4,000. Its portfolio includes the Harold Pinter Theatre, Liverpool’s Empire, and the Lyric and Hudson theatres on Manhattan’s Broadway. 

Providence-based private equity firm New Majority Capital has held the first close of its private equity micro-buyout fund, NMC Fund I, raising approximately $5m with funding led by the Skoll Foundation. 

NMC Fund I focuses on acquiring profitable small businesses owned by the so-called “silver tsunami” with $500,000 to $2m of EBITDA, a range NMC describes on its website as too small for traditional private equity interest but still offering opportunities for improved cashflow. 

The fund’s portfolio companies share 10% of annual profits with employees, aiming to transfer full ownership to underrepresented entrepreneurs over a 5-7 year period, according to its website. 

In a statement, Liz Diebold, Managing Director at the Skoll Foundation, said: “Truly inclusive entrepreneurship ensures that all individuals have the opportunity to own the businesses in which they work. 

“Asset ownership is key to wealth-building opportunities, but it remains systematically out of reach for many workers in the US. NMC is reducing barriers to business ownership with an equity-centered, non-extractive approach that generates impact at multiple levels—from business owners and employees to the communities they serve.” 

CEO and managing partner Havell Rodrigues described the fund’s “potential to significantly impact underrepresented entrepreneurs and the employees in their acquired businesses who will benefit from the profit share program”. 

UK lower mid-market private equity firm Kester Capital has agreed to sell Atec Group, a UK manufacturer and distributor of specialist insurance products, to European private equity investor Perwyn. 

According to a statement, this represents Kester Capital’s fourth consecutive exit over 4x and its eighth consecutive exit over 3x.  

During its investment period, Kester Capital said that it helped Atec to build out the management team; develop its technology team and platform; broaden the platform’s product and distribution footprint; deepen its insurer relationships; and establish Arkel, a managing general agent. 

In a separate statement, Perwyn said that Atec would appoint Matthew Donaldson, formerly CEO of BGL Group and founder of Compare the Market, as chairman.

Atec trades through Ceta Insurance and Arkel Underwriting and its portfolio includes brands specialising in niche leisure, household and SME cover (caravans, motorhomes, beach huts, boats, and let properties), as well as non-standard wholesale insurance. The company is led by CEO Brendan Devine and CFO Ian Gilbert.

Hong Kong has surpassed Singapore in drawing single family offices, buoyed by tax advantages and an investment migration program, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. 

According to a Deloitte study in March, Hong Kong boasted over 2,700 single-family offices by the end of last year, compared to approximately 1,400 in Singapore reported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. 

Speaking at the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association annual conference, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun highlighted a 24% increase in hedge fund managers, private equity fund managers and family offices in Hong Kong over the past three years. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has set a target to attract 200 new large family offices to the city by 2025, with InvestHK having assisted 64 family offices in establishing operations and another 130 expressing interest. 

Hong Kong’s government introduced several initiatives last year to attract wealth management offices, including tax incentives and an enhanced investment migration scheme. Wong noted that many of these offices have significantly grown, with 60% managing assets exceeding $50m. 

Despite claims of capital outflows, Wong pointed out a 5% increase in Hong Kong bank deposits last year, followed by a further 2.1% rise in the first four months of 2024 to $2.12tn (HKD16.6tn). 

Wong cited robust inflows into retail funds, with $3.8bn recorded in Q1 2024. He noted that Hong Kong remains Asia’s largest hedge fund hub and a pivotal cross-border wealth management centre, attracting international firms like Partners Group, which opened its seventh Asian office there last week. 

Wong also highlighted the successes of the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, which has garnered over 250 applications since its launch in March. This scheme facilitates expedited residency for wealthy individuals investing at least HKD30m across eligible financial instruments and properties. 

Jessica Cutrera, Chair of the Family Office Association of Hong Kong, emphasised the appeal of Hong Kong’s straightforward regulations and connectivity with mainland China, noting increasing interest from regions including the Middle East, India, Israel and other parts of Asia.