FTAdviser.com

Advertising

Bill Nixon, formerly head of investment at Aberdeen Asset Managers Private Equity and now managing partner at newly-formed Maven Capital Partners UK, said he is looking to rename the group's seven VCTs to Maven 1-7, from the four different brands under which they fall currently, subject to approval from the trusts' boards.

He said he is also looking to acquire new VCT mandates and expand the group's back-office services in Glasgow, on the grounds the price of real estate and manpower was lower than in London.

"There are a lot of highly qualified accounting staff who are less expensive," he said.

The group will continue in its current offices in three of its locations and look for new premises in two others, including London.

The Maven deal has echoed the recent MBO of Close Ventures, the largest VCT manager, and its rebranding to Albion Ventures.

Patrick Reeve, managing partner at Albion, remarked at the time of the deal that it was fitting for an entrepreneurial business such as venture capital to be run by its employees.

But MBOs of smaller alternative managers at large organisations may also come as a relief to board members, giving them fewer non-core headaches at a time of stress in the industry.

Nixon reiterated these positions and described his own buyout as a "natural evolution for the team more in line with current industry practice", although Aberdeen will still retain a stake in the firm and a veto on any major proposals outside the course of everyday business.

"We spend our life on buyouts," he said. "It's a very powerful message to say we've done one ourselves."