£140m fundraising for new renewables fleet
Aberdeen-based shipping firm North Star raised £140 million – including £50 million from the Scottish National Investment Bank – to build the next wave of its renewables fleet.
The deal came as the company looks to broaden its position as the UK’s leading service operations vessel operator and seize new opportunities in Europe.
Other backers included IFM Investors, Edmond de Rothschild’s BRIDGE, and RBC Capital Markets. The deal was supported by an advisory team including Shepherd & Wedderburn, PwC, RBC Capital Markets, Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Blackwood Partners.
Pallet business bought by timber group
Dunfermline-based timber pallet and packaging business Scott Group was acquired by UK timber and forestry group BSW Timber.
Since it was founded in 1987, Scott had grown to employ 1,300 staff with an annual turnover more than £250 million. Operating across 32 sites it also operates a pallet recovery, repair and reuse service, and a timber sourcing arm in Latvia.
Scott Group was advised by BTO Solicitors in Glasgow and BSW was advised by Macfarlanes in London.
Music promotor in German deal
Edinburgh’s Regular Music, which has staged concerts by acts such as Oasis, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Lana Del Rey, completed a partial sale to German promoter, venue operator and ticketing conglomerate DEAG.
Under the deal, through DEAG’s UK subsidiary Kilimanjaro Group, Regular Music CEO Mark Mackie remains a shareholder in the company and will continue to manage it in the long term. Burges Salmon advised the shareholders of Regular Music with a team led by Edinburgh-based corporate partner Danny Lee, alongside associate Victoria MacAulay.
Seed financing round for plant cell firm
Green Bioactives, which specialises in the discovery and production of natural products derived from plant cell cultures, secured a £2.6 million seed financing round led by St Andrews-based Eos Advisory.
The financing will enable the Edinburgh company to grow its management, production and research team capabilities.
The round also included investments from London-based Regenerate Ventures’ Agtech Fund, Milltrust International Group, and Scottish Enterprise, which also provided the company with advisory support.
Investment deal for digital twin developer
Aberdeen-headquartered Eserv, a provider of digital twin software for industrial assets, completed an investment deal with Vespa Capital.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, sees Vespa partnered with Eserv’s management team led by founder and CEO Dan Millard. The deal will support Eserv’s international growth plans, as well as further investment in staff and technology.
Eserv’s shareholders were advised by EY and Addleshaw Goddard. Vespa Capital was advised by DLA Piper, Calash, RSM and Endava.