Cinven raises €5bn for European buyouts Cinven, the private equity owner of British restaurant chain PizzaExpress, has raised €5bn for a new buyout fund targeting Europe, reaching its initial target in a challenging fundraising market. The fund manager, headed by Hugh Langmuir, has raised less than its previous €6.5bn fund, but in reaching its original objective, it has defied investors" reluctance to commit fresh money for the region amid the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis and a sluggish macroeconomic environment. It follows rivals including BC Partners, Sweden's EQT Partners and Advent International in securing money for European deals, while other competitors including Permira are still battling to raise cash. "We are very pleased with the level of support from our investors," Mr Langmuir said. Our successful fundraising demonstrates the confidence they have in our abilities to continue finding attractive investment opportunities across Europe, despite the challenging macroeconomic environment. It took 18 months for Cinven, founded in 1977 by the Coal Pension Trustees, to raise its fund, highlighting the challenges buyout fund managers face in getting commitments from investors in the wake of the financial crisis. Traditional investors in private equity funds such as US pension funds have reduced new investments and cut the number of fund managers they back after the financial crisis stymied distributions and hurt returns. This has meant a concentration of fresh commitments on the top performers, while the others have had a harder time raising money. Permira, which manages a €9.6bn fund, has had to lower its target for a new fund from €6.5bn to between €4bn and €5bn after 18 months struggling to secure €2bn in a first round of fundraising. Cinven said about half of the new fund's backers are North American investors, a greater proportion than previously. The buyout fund manager's previous fund, raised in 2007, was returning 7.06 per cent annually as of September, according to Washington State Investment Board, one of its backers. The company, which is based in London, has already started investing the new fund after a so-called first close in March last year.