Candover hires Trinity Mirror’s Cobbold

London-based private equity firm Candover has hired Trinity Mirror executive Humphrey Cobbold as origination director.  
 
Cobbold, 41, currently director of strategic development at UK publishing group Trinity Mirror, will join Candover in September in the new role, which involves co-ordinating the firm’s deal sourcing activities.
 

Cobbold: will source off-market deals

Cobbold joined Trinity Mirror in June 2003, and has focused on corporate finance and strategy, as well as overseeing the group’s sports and magazines and exhibitions divisions. He also acts as Trinity Mirror’s board member and chairman at online classified business Fish4, a business owned by Trinity Mirror, Newsquest Media Group, Northcliffe Newspapers Group and Guardian Media Group Regional Newspapers.

Prior to Trinity Mirror, Cobbold was a partner at management consulting firm McKinsey & Co, where he spent 6 years.
 
Colin Buffin, managing director at Candover, told PEO that Cobbold’s appointment would help with deal origination in an increasingly competitive market environment, generating more off-market transactions.
 
Separately, Candover has announced a raft of promotions. John Arney, Ian Gray, Charlie Green and Simon Leefe have all been promoted to managing director. Gerard Conway, Eric-Joost Ernst and Nils Stoesser have been promoted to director.

Candover also announced that Piers Dennison, currently investor relations director, has been promoted to managing director and been given the new position of head of operations, with responsibility for non-investment activities such as recruitment, training, finance and compliance.
 
In addition, four new non-UK European nationals have been hired and will join Candover later in the year. Buffin said all four will “initially” join the firm’s London office.

Candover has offices in Paris, Duesseldorf and Madrid and is currently investing its Candover 2005 fund, which closed on €3.5 billion ($4.5 billion) in November of last year.