Vision swoops in on Elegant hotels

PRIVATE equity firm Vision Capital has acquired controlling stakes in 700-strong pub chain Avebury Taverns and Barbados hotel group Elegant Hotels.

The acquisitions were part of Vision's purchase of most of the investment portfolio of private equity firm CS Structured Credit Fund.

Vision made the acquisition through a new £100m investment partnership that includes Goldman Sachs bank and private equity and real estate firm Landmark Partners. The cost of the deal, which included shares in motorway service provider RoadChef and finance companies Cabot Financial and Resource Partners, was not disclosed.

Last year, Vision chief executive Julian Mash led a similar acquisition of a portfolio from Morgan Grenfell Private Equity.

The sale of portfolios, rather than individual companies, is a relatively new method for private equity firms to realise the value of their investments.