Marwyn to raise £500m for listed fund

London-based investment group Marwyn has teamed with the Royal Bank of Scotland and two high profile UK businessmen to launch a private equity-style fund that will eventually be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The Marwyn Alternative Capital Fund, targeting £500 million (€587 million; $818 million), will be launched on 20 July and chaired by Nigel Rudd, former Barclays chairman and current BAA and Pendragon chairman. The ex-chairman and chief executive of Morgan Stanley International, Jonathan Chevenix-Trench, will also be on the fund’s board.

Meant to provide respite to small- and mid-size European businesses suffering from the stagnant credit markets and depressed valuations, Marwyn said the fund will “work with Royal Bank of Scotland to provide alternative financing to hard pressed small and mid-cap companies as part of RBS’s wider, comprehensive initiatives to boost lending to the sector”.

Rudd said in a statement he sees many similarities in today’s recession to the 1980s. “Many good companies will struggle to refinance over the next one to two years and many more will either go to the wall or be sold at knock down values. This fund will address a real market need to replace excessive short term debt with other forms of capital, including equity. It will also enable existing shareholders to protect their investment alongside a partner that has real experience in turnaround situations.”

Marwyn’s principal investment arm typically lists special purpose vehicles to fund its growth investment and industry consolidation investment strategies. Its advisory arm, Marwyn Capital, provides portfolio companies assistance on issues including capital raising and financial modelling.

Since 2006, the firm has done 67 deals and raised roughly £1.2 billion in acquisition funding, according to its website.