Private Equity News & Analysis

ECI Partners strengthens London office

The London- and Manchester-based private equity firm has added to its London operations with the hire of Tom Wrenn, formerly of Close Brothers Corporate Finance.

By
Robert Venes
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The London- and Manchester-based private equity firm has added to its London operations with the hire of Tom Wrenn, formerly of Close Brothers Corporate Finance.

UK mid-market private equity firm ECI Partners has appointed Tom Wrenn as an investment executive in its London office.
 
At ECI, Wrenn will be responsible for all aspects of the firm’s investment activities, including deal origination, execution, transformation and exit.
 
Wrenn joined ECI earlier this month from the private equity unit of Close Brothers Corporate Finance. During his two-and-a-half years at the firm, he focused on the leisure and media sectors, advising both public and private transactions before moving to the private equity team.
 
Prior to that, Wrenn spent four years at Deloitte & Touche, where he began his career as a tax advisor in the mergers and acquisitions team advising on European buyouts and large corporate transactions.
 
So far in 2006, ECI has sold UK marketing database company ClarityBlue to Experian for £85 million (€123 million; $149 million), generating an 8x money multiple; and The Hotel and Catering Training Company, a private sector provider of government-funded vocational training, to VT Group for an undisclosed sum.
 
In January, ECI acquired food and drinks retailer Bargain Booze from Electra Partners Europe for £63.5 million.
 
Founded in 1976 as Equity Capital for Industry, ECI has a team of 16 investment professionals operating out of offices in London and Manchester. The firm specialises in buyouts, buy-ins and development capital deals between £10 million and £100 million.