European Capital rejects claims investing will cease

European Capital has issued a statement saying it remains committed to European buyouts. The statement follows a report in a UK newspaper yesterday which suggested that parent company, NASDAQ-listed American Capital, had barred London-listed European Capital from making any further investments.

In a carefully worded statement, Ira Wagner, President of European Capital Financial Services said: “Our buyouts team continues to actively pursue the most attractive investment opportunities across Europe, displaying our commitment to support leading middle market companies.”

It was not clear whether “the most attractive investment opportunities” included European Capital’s One Stop Shop buyouts or whether it might only be mezzanine investments.

Completing buyouts in the UK, at least, is going to prove challenging for European Capital. Its deal-doing ability has suffered a major blow with the departure of its UK buyouts managing director Simon Henderson.

Sources confirm that Henderson, who joined European Capital from Barclays Private Equity in 2005, has left the firm. It is understood that several other members of the London team have also left.

The reasons for Henderson’s departure are not known. European Capital were days away from achieving exclusivity on a UK schools travel business when the investor pulled out and it emerged that Henderson had left.