News

Stirling Square Capital Partners ("Stirling Square"), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the appointments of Pierre Klemas as Chief Sustainability Officer and Kerrin Giordano as Talent Director.

Pierre joins Stirling Square from Ardian in Paris, where he was Sustainability Managing Director focused on ESG and impact integration for the Buyout and Infrastructure funds. Before that he held senior roles at EDF Renouvelables and Technip, where he focused on environmental health and safety engineering and corporate sustainability.

Kerrin joins Stirling Square from Goldman Sachs, where she held several roles in London and New York across Human Capital Management, including leading the people integration strategy on internal acquisitions.

‍Gregorio Napoleone, Managing Partner and Founder of Stirling Square said: “We are very pleased to welcome Pierre to lead our Sustainability capability at a time of increasing ESG focus and commitment at our Firm and across our investment portfolio. Pierre brings long-standing expertise to Stirling Square and will ensure smooth and continuous progress in our Sustainability undertakings.”

Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner and Founder of Stirling Square said: “Talent Management is strategic at Stirling Square as we drive continuous improvement and institutionalisation. As we further build out our Talent Management practice, Kerrin will contribute valuable support to the creation of personal and professional development plans for Stirling Square team members.”

Stirling Square Capital Partners ("Stirling Square"), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Marc Lamure as Head of Performance Optimisation. The newly created role complements Stirling Square’s in-house Capabilities Team, that comprises Organisational Enhancement, Digitalisation and Sustainability; together, they form the Value Creation Support Group, which assists the Investment Team and portfolio company managers in risk management and opportunity development, helping investee companies reach their full potential through ambitious value creation plans.

Marc joins Stirling Square following a successful career at Montagu Private Equity, where he served as a director in the Portfolio Performance Team, and before that as a partner at Bain & Company and an Officer in the French Navy. He is a graduate of the Ecole Centrale in Paris.

‍Gregorio Napoleone, Managing Partner and Founder of Stirling Square said: “Marc is a great addition to our Value Creation Support Group, which spans subject matter experts that possess vast experience and share Stirling Square’s dedication to excellence. I look forward to working with him as we continue to strive to elevate the strategic and financial value of our investee companies, while making them more sustainable over the longer term.”

Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner and Founder of Stirling Square said: “I am pleased to welcome Marc to our in-house Capabilities Team. The team has already had a huge impact on our Firm and its portfolio companies, and will continue to be critical as we evolve and grow in the coming years.”

Stirling Square Capital Partners, a leading London-based mid-market private equity investor, today announces two key hires to augment its internal capabilities.

Toni Gillespie – Chief of Talent: Toni joins the firm as Chief of Talent after a long career in HR at UBS, Credit Suisse, Bridgepoint, and most recently AMP Capital. She will be responsible for recruiting, fostering and developing human capital within the firm. Stirling Square is committed to best practices in meritocracy, diversity, inclusion and compensation. The Chief of Talent will also play an essential role in supporting Stirling Square portfolio companies’ strive for excellence in leadership management, as the firm drives ambitious change across its investments.

Elisabetta Ricci – Chief of Staff: Elisabetta joins Stirling Square following a successful career at Goldman Sachs, TowerBrook, and CDPQ. She will be focusing on driving improvements in Stirling Square’s internal capabilities and operations, managing special projects and future-proofing initiatives.  Elisabetta’s multi-faceted understanding of the private equity industry will give her a unique perspective on opportunities to further develop Stirling Square’s investment franchise.

Both will be based in London.

Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Stirling Square said: “I am delighted to welcome Toni and Elisabetta to Stirling Square. They join at an important moment in our evolution and growth and their experience and capabilities will have an immediate impact on our firm and its portfolio companies. They will work alongside senior leaders recruited in the past two years to enhance our internal capabilities in both ESG and Digitalization.”

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Stirling Square Capital Partners ("Stirling Square"), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Emin Aleskerov and Ahmed Khamassi to its newly-established Innovation and Sustainability team.

Emin began his investing career with Stirling Square, where he was a member of the investment team from 2005 to 2010. He re-joins Stirling Square as Head of Innovation and Sustainability after having worked as an independent consultant and investor in the meantime. He previously held roles at Credit Suisse First Boston, Siemens, and Dicke & Associates Management Consultants. Emin holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a Diplom-Ingenieur in Informatics from the University of Siegen, Germany.

Ahmed joins Stirling Square as Head of Data Science from Equinor, where he led transformation through machine learning and data science technology. Prior to that he worked in the Data Science divisions of Wipro Digital and JP Morgan.  Ahmed holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Queen's University Belfast and an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Tunis, Tunisia.

The firm's newly established Innovation and Sustainability team is charged with enabling Stirling Square and its portfolio companies to achieve their full potential through the power of data and technology, while also ensuring they are at the forefront of sustainability issues.

Stefano Bonfiglio, Stirling Square's Managing Partner, commented: "We are proud to announce the appointment of Emin and Ahmed to Stirling Square's Innovation and Sustainability team. The team will drive digitization within Stirling Square, contribute to equity value creation in our portfolio companies, and participate in the evaluation of new investment opportunities. Importantly, their mandate also includes a focus on sustainability, which is an increasingly fundamental theme in the investing landscape and reflects our dedication to the issues at hand.  We are excited to launch such an important new initiative at Stirling Square."

Stirling Square Capital Partners, a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the appointments of Manuel Gari and Andreas Theilgaard to the investment team.  Their additions strengthen the firm’s capabilities, particularly in Iberia and the Nordic region.

Prior to joining Stirling Square, Manuel worked at Goldman Sachs and focused on the TMT, Consumer & Retail and Healthcare sectors.  Manuel holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BSc in Business Administration and Management from ESADE Business School.  He is a Spanish national and speaks Spanish, French and English.

Andreas joins Stirling Square from The Carlyle Group where he worked within their International Energy Partners strategy.  Prior to that, he was at Gunvor Group and at Rothschild & Co, focused on Mergers & Acquisitions.  Andreas holds a BSc in Management from the University of Warwick.  He is a Danish national and speaks Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and English.

The addition of Manuel and Andreas brings Stirling Square’s investment team to 20 professionals, representing 12 nationalities and speaking 13 languages.

Stefano Bonfiglio, Stirling Square’s Managing Partner, commented: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of both Manuel and Andreas to the team, focusing on Iberia and the Nordic region. We look forward to their contributions as we continue to invest Stirling Square’s recently closed Fourth Fund.”

Stirling Square Capital Partners (“Stirling Square”), is pleased to announce the successful final close of its Fourth Fund (the “Fund”) with €950 million in total commitments raised. The Fund exceeded Stirling Square’s target and represents a nearly 60% increase in size over the firm’s Third Fund.

The Fund received robust support from the firm’s existing investor base and attracted significant commitments from notable new global investors. At final close approximately 60% of commitments were from Europe, 35% from North America, and 5% from the Asia Pacific region.

The Fund will continue to execute the strategy developed by Stirling Square’s earlier funds for the European middle market, and pursue value-oriented transactions with a clear focus on business transformation. It has already made two acquisitions to date: in February 2019 the Fund acquired Verescence, a France-headquartered global leader in glass packaging for the perfumery and cosmetics industries; in June 2019 it acquired Logent, a provider of customised logistics solutions in the Nordics.

The final close of the Fund follows an active period of realisations for Stirling Square; the firm exited two investments in the fourth quarter of 2019, including Cartonplast from its Second Fund and Siblu Villages from its Third Fund.

Stefano Bonfiglio, co-founder and Managing Partner of Stirling Square, commented: “Our track record and expertise have developed over 25 platform investments and 22 transformational add-on acquisitions completed across 13 countries since 2002. Today Stirling Square is the leading private equity firm offering truly pan-European access to the lower end of the middle market. The Fund’s increased size will allow us to more effectively target the vast opportunity set that exists in our space. With an investment team of 20 investment professionals representing 11 European nationalities and commanding 12 European languages, we are uniquely positioned to enable our business partners to achieve their true potential across borders.”

Gregorio Napoleone, co-founder of Stirling Square and Management Committee member, added: “The successful raise of the Fund stems from our continued investment in the firm’s talent, strategic architecture and market relationships. We are proud to represent such a valuable group of stakeholders. Our significant team commitment to the Fund is evidence of our dedication to the strategy and our belief in the significant opportunities ahead. We look forward to the continued success of our team, and to strengthening our relationships with each of our partners over the course of the Fourth Fund and beyond.”

Stirling Square was advised by placement adviser Rede Partners LLP and law firm Clifford Chance LLP.

Stirling Square Capital Partners ("Stirling Square"), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Amélie Mazurier and Adriaan Bloys van Treslong to the investment team. Their addition compliments and strengthens the firm’s execution capabilities across the pan-European landscape.

Amélie was previously at J.P. Morgan, where she worked in the Investment Banking division focused on Mergers & Acquisitions within the Consumer & Retail team. She holds an MSc in Finance from ESADE Business School and an MSc in Management from HEC Lusanne. She is a French national from Switzerland and speaks fluent French and English.

Adriaan joined Stirling Square from Hannam Investments. Prior to that, he was in the Investment Banking division at J.P. Morgan focused on Mergers & Acquisitions within the Natural Resources team. Adriaan holds an MBA from INSEAD, and both an MSc and BSc in Financial Economics from Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. He is a Dutch and German national and speaks fluent Dutch, German and English.

Stefano Bonfiglio, Stirling Square’s Managing Partner, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Amélie and Adriaan to the team. Both individuals have demonstrated academic and professional excellence and possess the international perspective that exemplifies Stirling Square. Together they bring our investing team to a total of 16 investment professionals, representing 9 nationalities and speaking 12 languages. Their addition strategically expands our investing capabilities as we deploy our Fourth Fund.”

Stirling Square Capital Partners (“Stirling Square”), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Henrik Lif to the investment team. Henrik will be based in London and will strengthen the firm’s sourcing and execution capabilities across Europe.

Prior to joining Stirling Square, Henrik served as Managing Partner at Segulah, the Nordic mid-market private equity firm headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. At Segulah, Henrik played a pivotal role in raising the firm’s fifth fund, and was lead partner in key investments including the acquisitions of Semantix, a Nordic translation and interpretation company, Zengun, a high-end commercial property constructor in Stockholm, Teknikmagasinet, a leading Nordic retailer of high-end gadgets and hobby products and Docu Nordic, the number one information services provider to the Nordic construction industry.

Prior to Segulah, Henrik spend 13 years within the Nordic Capital group. At Nordic he served as an Investment Manager and Director, investing in companies including Anticimex (pest control), Biovitrum (life science), KappAhl (fashion retail) and CPS Color, the world leading provider of paint tinting solutions, where he also served as President and CEO from 2009 to 2013.

Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner at Stirling Square, commented: “We are excited to welcome Henrik to the firm. His thorough understanding of the Nordic markets will complement our team’s pan-European sourcing and investment capabilities.”

Henrik added: “I am thrilled to be joining Stirling Square. It is a fantastic team comprised of deeply experienced investment professionals specialising in complex pan-European opportunities. I look forward to contributing to the firm’s future success.”

London, 8 March 2017 – Stirling Square Capital Partners (“Stirling Square”), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dietrich Hauptmeier to its investment team. Dietrich will be based in London and contribute to the firm’s investing activities in the DACH region.

Dietrich joins Stirling Square from TA Associates, a growth-focused private equity firm with offices in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai, and Hong Kong. As a Principal at TA Associates he focused on coverage of industrial, technology, and business and financial services companies in northern Europe. While at TA Associates, Dietrich was a board member of Onlineprinters, a web-to-print service provider based in Germany, and a board observer at Soederberg & Partners, a provider of pension and other financial products based in Sweden.  Prior to TA Associates Dietrich also spent time on the investment teams at Palamon Capital Partners and KKR, both in London.

Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner at Stirling Square, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Dietrich to our growing team. Stirling Square’s already strong presence in the region will be bolstered by Dietrich’s deep experience in sourcing and executing transactions in Germany and beyond.”

Dietrich added: “I am excited for the opportunity to join the distinctly entrepreneurial and pan-European team at Stirling Square, which has unique abilities to handle the complexity inherent to the mid-market. In my new role I look forward to supporting great businesses and managers in fulfilling their ambitions, be it through consolidation, vertical integration, geographic expansion, or other value creation strategies.”

Stirling Square Capital Partners (“Stirling Square”), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, today announces the appointment of Pascal Monteiro de Barros and Charlotte Woltz to strengthen the firm’s Investor Relations capabilities. Both will be based in London.

Pascal joins Stirling Square as the Partner in charge of Investor Relations from MAB Partners, a specialist placement agent, where he was also a Partner. At MAB, Pascal worked with large institutions, wealth management firms, and family offices globally on placing investments. Prior to MAB, Pascal spent eight years at the fund of hedge funds manager EIM, where he managed client relationships in Europe, Brazil and the Middle East. At EIM he was also responsible for new product development. Pascal began his career as an entrepreneur in the digital printing and telecom industries in his native country of Portugal.

At Stirling Square, Pascal will be responsible for developing and maintaining the firm’s broad network of international client relationships, and aspects of firm strategy. He will also oversee Stirling Square’s communications and external relations, and contribute to the firm’s investing activities in the Iberian Peninsula.

Pascal received a BA in History from Hamilton College and an MBA from The Darden School at the University of Virginia, where he currently serves as a member of Darden’s Global Advisory Council.

Charlotte joins Stirling Square after earning her MBA from Harvard Business School. Prior to Harvard, Charlotte worked at Highbridge Capital Management, a New York City-based hedge fund manager, in strategy and business development capacities. At Highbridge, she helped manage investor relationships and functioned as a product specialist for the firm’s flagship Multi-Strategy fund. Charlotte began her career in Investment Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. At Stirling Square, Charlotte will work with Pascal to strengthen the firm’s international investor base.

Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner at Stirling Square commented: “We are thrilled to welcome Pascal and Charlotte to the firm. Both individuals have a deep understanding of how to establish investor relationships and a proven ability in cultivating international networks. Stirling Square already enjoys a successful track record as a pan-European leader in complex mid-market investments. The addition of Pascal and Charlotte will further enhance the firm’s fundraising capabilities and international scope.”

Aurelien Benoit and Jan-Henning Saitz join as Executives

7 March 2016 - Stirling Square Capital Partners ("Stirling Square"), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, today announced the appointment of Aurelien Benoit and Jan-Henning Saitz as Executives to the firm.

Aurelien was previously an Associate at Goldman Sachs where he worked in the Investment Banking Division in London. He completed an MBA at INSEAD and prior to that qualified as a Chartered Accountant whilst at PricewaterhouseCoopers in France and the United States of America. Aurelien also has an MSc in Economics from the Institut d'Administration des Entreprises de Grenoble and speaks French and English.

Jan was previously an Investment Associate at Better Capital in London where he specialised in distressed private equity investments in the UK and Germany. He holds an MSc in Management from the London Business School and a BSc in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim and speaks German and English.

Commenting on the appointments, Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner, said: "We are pleased to welcome both Aurelien and Jan to the Stirling Square team as we continue to add new talent and expertise in line with our plans for our recently closed Third Fund."

Stirling Square Capital Partners, a leading private equity investor in the European mid-market, announces the final closing of its Third Fund at its hard cap of €600m

Third Fund commitments exceed the size of Stirling Square’s Second Fund, which raised €375m in 2010

7 January 2016, London – Stirling Square Capital Partners (“Stirling Square”) is pleased to announce the successful final closing of its Third Fund at the hard cap of €600m, significantly above target and representing a notable increase on its €375m Second Fund. Third Fund will maintain the focus of prior Stirling Square funds, building upon the proven strategy of investing across Europe in mid-market companies offering transformational value creation potential.

Existing Second Fund investors comprise over 60% of the total Third Fund commitments, with the remainder raised from new investor relationships. Together, they represent a strong investor base of leading pension funds, fund of funds, insurance companies, endowments, family offices and sovereign wealth funds with a broad geographic representation across Europe, the US, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

The Stirling Square team consists of fourteen experienced, multi-national professionals who originate, execute and manage opportunities in all key geographies across Europe. Since the founding of Stirling Square in 2002, the team has been a significant investor in its own funds and, consistent with that philosophy, represents more than 7% of Third Fund commitments.

Since the first close of Third Fund, Stirling Square has acquired three portfolio companies and has a number of potential investments in the pipeline.

Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner at Stirling Square commented, “We are delighted to retain such a large number of our existing investors, some of whom have been investing with Stirling Square for over ten years. We are equally pleased to welcome new investors to our Third Fund. We greatly appreciate their commitment and continued resounding support for our strategy. It endorses the quality of our team and our performance, of which we are immensely proud.”

Rede Partners acted as Placement Agent and Clifford Chance as legal, tax and regulatory advisor for the fundraising.

Ben Hopper joins as an Executive

3 August 2015 - Stirling Square Capital Partners (“Stirling Square”), a leading pan-European lower mid-market private equity firm, today announced the appointment of Ben Hopper as an Executive to the firm. Ben was previously a Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he worked in the Corporate Finance team both in London and Johannesburg.

Ben has recently completed his MBA from London Business School and has a BA from Nottingham University. Ben is also a Chartered Accountant. Commenting on the appointment, Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner, said: "We are pleased to welcome Ben to the Stirling Square team as we continue to add new talent and expertise."

Jonathan Heathcote returns to Stirling Square and joins as a Partner

Matteo Nichil joins as an Executive

15 November 2013 - Stirling Square Capital Partners (“Stirling Square”), a leading pan-European mid-market private equity firm, today announced that it has appointed Jonathan Heathcote as a Partner and Matteo Nichil as an Executive to the firm.

Jonathan joins from Palamon Capital Partners where he was one of six partners responsible for the origination, execution and management of European mid-market investments, primarily in Spain, Germany and the UK. Prior to this, Jonathan was a consultant to Stirling Square in 2007-08 and was involved in a number of notable transactions during that time, including the acquisition of Italian aerospace company Microtecnica. He was a Partner at European Acquisition Capital 2002-07 and was responsible for sourcing, executing and managing a portfolio of investments, primarily in the UK and France. Prior to this, Jonathan was a consultant at McKinsey and a Royal Marines Officer.
He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MA from Oxford University.

Matteo joins from Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he was an Associate in the M&A team. He joins with a range of transaction experience in the consumer and TMT sectors.
Matteo holds an MSc from the CASS Business School, City University, London and a BSc from Università Bocconi, Milan and speaks both English and Italian.

Commenting on the appointments, Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner, said: "As we continue to add new talent and expertise to our team, it is particularly pleasing to welcome back Jonathan, a former colleague and a proven resource in the origination and management of complex, cross-border transactions. His skills will complement the existing team well as we continue to grow Stirling Square. Matteo has proven transaction execution skills and will provide additional support to the team on opportunities arising across Europe."

London, 17 April 2012 - Real Deals Magazine has awarded Stirling Square Capital Partners the Private Equity Award 2012 (Mediterranean Deal of the Year) for its investment in Microtecnica.

The award is made annually by Real Deals Magazine in conjunction with CASS Business School for deals exited in the previous year. CASS Business School review all the private equity deal exits in the year and recommend those which demonstrate the best aspects of private equity ownership.

A pre-eminent panel of judges from the private equity market then determine the winner. For Microtecnica, the judges made particular reference to the multiple strands of change implemented during the period of private equity ownership and the text book example of value creation.

Stirling Square Capital Partners (Stirling Square), the leading pan-European lower mid-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Patric Klees to its Investment Team.

Until June 2011, Patric Klees worked for Capvis Equity Partners Ltd., a mid-market buyout fund based in Zurich, with representative offices in Frankfurt and Shanghai. As Investment Director at Capvis, Patric successfully sourced and led transactions in various sectors and geographies over the last nine years. He has undertaken a number of roles and has been involved in establishing and raising new fund initiatives. Prior to Capvis, Patric was with D.B. Zwirn & Co LP in New York.

Patric holds an MSc in Business Administration from the University of Zurich, Switzerland and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation. He speaks German, English, French and Spanish. He is a non-executive Advisor at Diener Syz Real Estate, a real estate private equity fund in Asia.

Commenting on the appointment, Stefano Bonfiglio said: "We are very pleased to add new talent to our team. Patric has proven capabilities in complex, cross-border transactions in the mid-market, which is exactly the experience required to succeed here. Patric will have a significant role to play at Stirling Square and with him the Stirling Square investment team will represent eight different nationalities with eight European languages spoken."

Patric Klees said: "I am pleased to have the opportunity to build on my experience in the mid-market. Stirling Square has a reputation for complex, international cross-border transactions, as well as special situations, a field which excites me and I look forward to contributing to the Stirling Square team".

LONDON, 22December 2011 –The Italian Private Equity Association (AIFI) has awarded Stirling Square Capital Partners the 2011 private equity transaction of the year award (buy-out category) for its investment in Microtecnica. The award is made annually by AIFI in conjunction with Ernst & Young for the deal which best demonstrates the value creation potential of private equity ownership. In reviewing eight finalists, the judges noted a transformational change at Microtecnica during the period of Stirling Square ownership. This comprised the successful delivery of an operational improvement programme, the investment of increased levels of capital expenditure/R&D and the recruitment of a number of key managers to grow the business.

Stefano Bonfiglio, Partner at Stirling Square, said: “We achieved a true alignment of interest with the management team at Microtecnica led by CEO Alan Bean. It was the managers who saw the opportunity to transform the business, changes that could be delivered through accessing private equity capital and working with an international partner knowledgeable in the aerospace and defence sector. I wish the management team well for the future.”

Stirling Square Capital Partners (Stirling Square), a leading pan-European private equity firm, is pleased to announce the appointments of Gideon Glassman and Enrico Biale as Executives.

Gideon Glassman joins from Fidelity Equity Partners (FEP), a $500m transatlantic mid-market fund affiliated with Fidelity, which invested in service, media and technology businesses. At FEP, Gideon covered the UK and Netherlands markets.

Prior to FEP, Gideon spent four years as a strategy consultant at Monitor Group where he worked on projects in Europe, Africa and India, across a range of sectors including industrials, consumer goods, financial services and telecommunications. He previously worked as an engineer.

Gideon holds an MBA from INSEAD in France and Singapore, and MA and MEng degrees in Engineering from Cambridge University. He speaks English, Dutch and German.

Enrico Biale’s most recent experience was working on the turnaround of Euroceanica, a London-based shipping group. Prior to that he was an associate in Goldman Sachs’ European Healthcare Group, where he worked on transactions in healthcare and pharmaceuticals. His previous experience includes Brera Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, and Deloitte’s corporate finance team in Italy.

Enrico holds an economics degree from the University of Genoa and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He speaks English, Italian and Spanish.

Commenting on the appointments, Stefano Bonfiglio, Managing Partner, said: "We are very pleased to add new talent to our team. Both Gideon and Enrico have proven capabilities in complex, international transactions, which is exactly the experience required to succeed here. The pair will have significant roles to play at Stirling Square."

Gideon Glassman, said: "I am excited by the opportunity to build on my experience in the international mid-market. Stirling Square has a reputation for successfully delivering strong returns through their transformational, growth-focused cross-border deals. I look forward to contributing to the Stirling Square team"

Enrico Biale, said: "I was attracted to Stirling Square’s diverse international approach. I am looking forward to working for one of Europe’s leading mid-market investors at a particularly interesting time in the private equity industry."

Stirling Square Capital Partners ["Stirling Square"], the pan-European private equity firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Christopher Black as Head of Finance.

Chris is a qualified chartered accountant and graduate in Business Management from King’s College, London. He joins from UBS AG, where he specialised in the financial control and administration of private equity funds and investments; managing the financial reporting division of the Bank’s global private equity business.

Christopher Black, head of finance, said: "I am excited by this new role, which is a superb opportunity to build on my experience managing the financial reporting of global private equity at a major bank. Stirling Square has a reputation for successfully delivering strong returns through their complex, cross-border deals. I look forward to contributing to the success of this excellent team."

Martin Calderbank, partner, said: "Chris has the ideal experience for the role and he will strengthen our dynamic team. Critically, Chris has in depth knowledge of the pan-European mid-market and he has a clear understanding of what our investors are looking for."

London – 30th January 2008: Stirling Square Capital Partners [“Stirling Square”], the pan-European private equity firm, today announced the appointment of Julien Horreard as Executive.

The appointment follows Stirling Square’s string of successful pan-European, complex mid-market transactions, including the investment and subsequent sale of Global Design Technologies in May 2007 for $343m, and the sale of Schoeller Arca Systems for €428m in July 2007. The sale of GDT was named ‘France and Benelux Deal of the Year’ at the EVCA Private Equity Awards held in Barcelona in December 2007.

From July 2004 to December 2007 Julien Horreard worked in the M&A team at UBS Investment Bank in London, where he was promoted to Associate in July 2007. There, he advised on a number of transactions including AS Watson’s $1bn cash offer on Marionnaud, the £200m sale of Cory to Montagu, the $9bn disposal of PacifiCorp by ScottishPower, the €9bn acquisition of ASF by Vinci and the €900m IPO of Rezidor.

Prior to UBS, he worked from April 2003 to June 2004 as a Junior Analyst within the Leveraged Finance team at BNP Paribas in New York, and from August 2001 to July 2002 served an internship within the Investment Banking department of JP Morgan in Paris.

Martin Calderbank, Partner, said: “I am delighted to welcome Julien Horreard to the Stirling Square team. His arrival consolidates our international capabilities, with 50% of the deal team now Francophone. Julien will be working alongside Stirling Square’s senior partners to ensure that our reputation for the successful execution of high value, complex mid-market transactions continues to be strengthened.”

Commenting on his appointment, Julien Horreard said: “I am excited to be joining Stirling Square and I look forward to working with the team to strengthen its position as one of Europe’s leading mid-market private equity investors”.

London – 22 November, 2007: Stirling Square Capital Partners, the pan-European private equity firm has been awarded ‘France and Benelux Deal of the Year’ - for its sale of Global Design Technologies - at the EVCA Private Equity Awards, in Barcelona.

The award, judged by a distinguished panel of industry experts, recognised Stirling Square’s investment and subsequent sale to Bridgepoint in May 2007 for $343m, as an outstanding example of operational improvement and return on investment.

Martin Calderbank, Partner, said: “I am delighted to receive this award which recognises that this was a complex international investment, executed successfully to yield excellent returns. This has been a very successful investment for us. We worked with a top quality management team to implement a long-term growth strategy, while driving operational improvements yielding cash flow and profit generation. This deal is a classic example of our work, a complex, cross border transaction; successfully integrating businesses to create an industry leader.”

GDT was created through the simultaneous management buyouts of Permaswage of France and Deutsch Metal Components of the US, by Stirling Square in January 2005 at a total enterprise value of $125m. Consolidation of the two businesses created a global industry leader.

London, October 14, 2002 - Stirling Square Capital Partners (the pan-European private equity firm) is pleased to announce a $250m cornerstone commitment from Citigroup in its debut fund, targeting European mid-market transactions.

Stirling Square Capital Partners is a specialist mid-market private equity firm with strong local European expertise. The six partners bring a combined 50 years experience of operating in local private equity markets across Europe, with particular strengths in Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and France.

Stirling Square Capital Partners pursues private equity investments in European companies with enterprise values in the €50m-500m range.. Target companies are typically sector leaders with international aspirations, have defensible competitive advantage and talented management capable of executing a clearly defined value-creation strategy.

Jakob Forschner, a partner at Stirling Square Capital Partners, said "Our partners are predominantly nationals of the markets in which they operate and bring strong local market knowledge. Our mix of nationalities also enables us to see cross-border opportunities from an international perspective. Citigroup’s commitment will enable us to realise our goal of building local champions into international players. Whilst we intend in due course to raise additional sums from further sources we are actively pursuing investments at present."