Deal Round-up 12/02/02

Barclays invests in weighing scales

Barclays Private Equity (BPE), the European mid-market buyout operator, has invested in the £18m (E29m) MBO of Salter Housewares Ltd, the household weighing scales manufacturer.

BPE invested £6.5m of equity capital in return for a 70 per cent stake in the business, with Barclays Leveraged Finance providing debt financing. The firm also brought in Stephen Riley, former CEO of kitchenware manufacturer The Denby Group, as non-executive chairman.

Rob Myers, who led the deal for BPE, said Salter was a well-established consumer brand which had shown strong growth in recent years. The new partners are planning to grow the business further in international markets.

Invex Capital introduced the deal to BPE.

Interregnum injects cash into Adaptive and ComputerWire

Interregnum Plc, the London-based IT investor and advisor, has announced development capital investments in two early stage technology companies. 

ComputerWire Plc, a business information provider focused on the IT sector, received £500,000 of equity capital to develop and market a range of products that comprise news, opinion, research and advisory services for IT companies.

Interregnum, which is run by Ken Olisa, also made available £250,000 to Adaptive, an information management service provider. It is the first tranche of a £650,000 commitment Interregnum has made to the company.