ownership industry private equity predecessor hicks muse tate & furst europe 1999 2004 founded 2004 headquarters london united kingdom products leveraged buyouts growth capital total assets 4.8 billion number of employees 65 1 website www.lioncapital.com lion capital llp is a british private equity firm specialising in investments in the consumer sector . previous and current consumer brands owned by lion have included weetabix jimmy choo wagamama kettle foods and allsaints . 2 the firm is headquartered in london england and employs 30 investment executives across its london and los angeles offices . 3 the firm s principals have invested approximately 6 billion in more than 30 businesses and more than 100 consumer brands . 1 contents 1 investment strategy 2 history 3 investments 4 see also 5 references 6 external links investment strategy edit lion capital seeks to invest in mid and large sized companies selling branded products including apparel accessories and luxury goods food distribution and specialty retail . 4 lion capital s directors have resisted diversification into other sectors claiming that their strategy is to know more about less . 1 lion capital s team draws on its investing and operating expertise to identify consumer brands with growth potential and implement value creating strategies within these businesses often through geographic expansion category extension product innovation or operating improvements . 5 while investments are first and foremost sector driven lion capital focuses on companies in europe and north america . 4 history edit lion capital was founded in 2004 by lyndon lea robert darwent and neil richardson with the goal of creating the leading investment firm focused on the consumer sector . 3 the firm s predecessor also run by lea and darwent was launched in 1998 as the european affiliate of american private equity firm hicks muse tate & furst now hm capital . 6 lea and darwent separated the european affiliate from its ailing american parent launching lion capital as an independent private equity firm . 7 in 2004 lion capital completed fundraising for its first private equity fund lion capital fund i with commitments from institutional investors of 820 million . 8 over thirty institutions committed capital to fund i. 3 in april 2007 lion capital established a north american presence opening an office in new york . 3 that same year lion capital raised its second private equity fund lion capital fund ii with approximately 2.0 billion of investor commitments . 9 10 in 2010 lion capital formed its third private equity fund lion capital fund iii which ultimately included capital commitments of 1.5 billion . 3 11 in october 2012 the north american office was relocated from new york to los angeles . 12 investments edit lion capital s portfolio has included some of the world s best known consumer brands . 1 among the firm s most notable investments are bought weetabix in 2004 for 640 million and sold 60 % to bright food in 2012 in a deal valuing the company at 1.2 billion 13 acquired jimmy choo in 2004 for 100 million and sold the company in 2007 for 225 million 14 acquired wagamama in 2005 for 102 million 15 and later sold the company for 215 million in 2011 16 acquired orangina schweppes in 2006 in partnership with the blackstone group and later sold the company for 2.6 billion in 2009 17 acquired kettle foods in 2006 for 270 million and sold the company in 2010 for 615 million 18 acquired hema in 2007 in a deal estimated to be worth 1.3 billion 19 acquired the findus and young s brands in 2008 for 1.1 billion 20 acquired as adventure group in 2008 for 263 million 21 invested 80 million in american apparel in 2009 22 acquired bumble bee foods for 980 million in 2010 23 purchased picard in 2010 for 1.5 billion 24 acquired allsaints in 2011 25 acquired alain afflelou in 2012 for 740 million 26 acquired john varvatos enterprises inc. in 2012 27 acquired ghd in 2013 for 300 million 28 acquired pittarosso in 2014 for 295 million 29 see also edit lyndon lea hicks muse tate & furst references edit a b c d http www.telegraph.co.uk finance businessclub business club video business services sector videos 11131707 lion capital.html lion capital brands . lioncapital.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . a b c d e about lion capital . lioncapital.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . a b lion capital llp private company information businessweek . businessweek.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . lion capital approach . lioncapital.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . hicks muse splits from us . financial times . 22 january 2005 . retrieved 12 september 2016 . subscription required lion capital gets ready to bare its teeth the times . thetimes.co.uk . retrieved 12 september 2016 . lion capital s lyndon lea defends his performance . telegraph.co.uk . retrieved 12 september 2016 . porter kiel 22 august 2011 . lion capital hits 1.3 bn in latest close . efinancialnews.com . financial news . retrieved 12 september 2016 . kreutzer laura 12 february 2010 . til key man do us part famous private equity break ups . wall street journal blogs . retrieved 12 september 2016 . lion capital falls short of 2bn target for third fund altassets private equity news . retrieved 12 september 2016 . porter kiel 9 july 2012 . wsj pro private equity . wall street journal . retrieved 12 september 2016 . subscription required http www.telegraph.co.uk finance newsbysector banksandfinance privateequity 9242899 chinas bright food takes 60pc stake in weetabix.htm dead link jimmy choo discover jimmy choo s company page the business of fashion . businessoffashion.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . bowers simon 17 june 2005 . lion capital snaps up wagamama . theguardian.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 via the guardian . certainly sir here is the bill for wagamama the times . thetimes.co.uk . the times . retrieved 12 september 2016 . http www.bloomberg.com apps news pid newsarchive & sid a2yesw5vtwus dead link lion capital sells kettle foods for 615m altassets private equity news . altassets.net . altassets . retrieved 12 september 2016 . editorial reuters . dutch maxeda sells hema retail chain to lion capital . reuters . retrieved 12 september 2016 . http www.bloomberg.com apps news pid newsarchive & sid ayhk4mhbuamw dead link belgium lion completes eur 263m adventure deal unquote . unquote.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . http www.bloomberg.com apps news pid newsarchive & sid aypteqeu1qi0 dead link peker emre . lion capital taps jpmorgan for 980 million bumble bee buyout . bloomberg.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . finch gavin . lion capital agrees to buy picard from bc partners . bloomberg.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . lion capital brands . lioncapital.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . lion capital buys alain afflelou unquote . unquote.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . karr jean e. palmieri arnold j. 8 march 2012 . lion capital acquires majority of john varvatos . wwd.com . retrieved 12 september 2016 . montagu sells ghd to lion capital for 300 mln stg . reuters . 10 february 2013 . retrieved 12 september 2016 . http www.lioncapital.com images uploads news pittarosso release % 285dec14 % 29.pdf external links edit lion capital company website v t e private equity and venture capital basic investment types buyout venture mezzanine growth secondaries equity co investment history history of private equity and venture capital early history of private equity private equity in the 1980s private equity in the 1990s private equity in the 2000s terms and concepts buyout financial sponsor management buyout divisional buyout buy sell agreement leveraged recapitalization dividend recapitalization venture angel investor business incubator post money valuation pre money valuation seed money startup company venture capital financing venture debt venture round structure private equity firms and funds limited partnership limited liability company carried interest management fee publicly traded private equity business development company venture capital trust private investment in public equity pipe pledge fund investors corporations institutional investors pension funds insurance companies fund of funds endowments foundations investment banks merchant banks commercial banks high net worth individuals family offices sovereign wealth funds crowdfunding related financial terms aum cap table capital call capital commitment capital structure distribution waterfall ebitda envy ratio high yield debt ipo irr leverage liquidation preference m & a pme taxation of private equity and hedge funds undercapitalization vintage year private equity and venture capital investors private equity firms venture capital firms angel investors portfolio companies retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title lion capital llp & oldid 738990792 categories private equity firms of the united kingdomcompanies established in 2005financial services companies 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