DE Shaw beefs up European direct capital team

DE Shaw has appointed Peter Bate, Simon Marshall, and Michael Simpson expanding its European direct capital team, according to a statement. The expansion takes the team’s size from one to four, according to a city source.

Bate has joined from Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, where he was a director in their leveraged finance team. Bate worked for 19 years at Lloyd’s and led more than 30 transactions in the leveraged buyout market.

Marshall also left Lloyds TSB, where he was a director in its structured property finance team. After ten years at Lloyds, he also held senior positions in their project finance and energy finance teams.

Simpson worked in the banking division at Wachovia Securities in the US, where he focused on leveraged finance transactions.

The firm’s direct investment team provides junior debt, mezzanine and equity finance to mid-market companies. Michael Joseph joined the firm last year to set up the arm after 24 years in private equity, including four years as head of structured finance at Lloyds TSB.

It is understood that DE Shaw will be investing off the company’s balance sheet.

DE Shaw has been expanding its private equity activities globally. As well as setting up its Europe team, it also set up an office in Hong Kong in February to make investments throughout Greater China. The firm also has a presence in India and it set up its first direct capital team in the US in 2004.

Other mezzanine providers such as Intermediate Capital Group and alternative investment firm Partners Group have said they expect the resurgence of the hybrid form of debt since the problems in the global credit market began to continue.