Private equity firms invest long-term equity finance in companies which are not quoted on public stock markets. They usually own the business for a number of years, during which time they work with the company's management to improve the company's performance, operations and strategic direction.
LGV was established in 1986 as the private equity arm of Legal & General Group plc, a FTSE-100 quoted insurance company. It is a subsidiary of Legal & General Investment Management (Holdings) Limited which managed over £260bn at the end of 2008. Since 1988, LGV has invested solely in unquoted companies, principally through its annual partnerships. Since 1994, these have included significant amounts of externally raised monies.
LGV is committed to conforming to the ‘Guidelines for Disclosure and Transparency in Private Equity’ issued by the Walker Working Group in November 2007, on a comply or explain basis. LGV also follows the BVCA guidelines on valuation when valuing its portfolio companies for reporting purposes. As part of a quoted company, we recognise that it is important to have robust procedures in place to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements including arrangements to deal with any potential conflicts of interest.
For more information about private equity in the UK, see www.bvca.co.uk.
