The Alchemist And The "Hobby" Investor
June 15 2005
The Financial Times
Jon Moulton is managing director of Alchemy Partners, a private
equity business he set up in 1997, having held senior posts
at Apax, Schroders and Citicorp. Alchemy specialises in "difficult
deals". It has invested in more than 100 companies for
clients such as BAE Systems, General Motors, Goldman Sachs
and Morgan Stanley.
Alchemy's biggest single investment was to put £75m
($135m) in Four Seasons, a healthcare business. Mr. Moulton
made more than £300m for investors when Allianze Capital
bought Four Seasons for £775m last year. Another investment,
Le Meridien hotels, was a failure with profits hit by the September
11 2001 attacks on New York. Alchemy is currently engaged in
a stand-off with UK Coal over preparations for a takeover bid.
Mr. Molton is a keen private investor in fledgeling businesses.
He says this is a "hobby" but acquaintances claim
he has made large sums from it. He invests some of his personal
fortune - which newspapers "regularly misreport" as £40m
- through E-Synergy, a new technology specialist set up by
Andrew Stevenson, a physicist and entrepreneur.
E-Synergy has £15m in investments, £10m on
behalf of private individuals. It has put money into 10 biotech,
software and nanotechnology companies since 2000. Mr. Moulton
says "E-Synergy start-ups have a much lower failure rate
than the generality of such businesses.
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