Milan’s new members’ club aims to attract the rich fleeing London

A big thing to start with: Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is heading for an overwhelming majority in the British general election, ousting Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives after 14 years in office. Follow the election live here.

In today’s newsletter:

• Milan invites you to the members club

• SoftBank rejects Elliott’s demands

• New Mountain focuses on medium-sized deals

Milan prepares to welcome financial brothers

The announcement of Soho HouseThe opening of The 40 Fingers in Milan in 2026 received a lot of media attention last month, but the renovation of the palazzo in central San Babila square will be two years away.

Private equity firm based in London Three Hills Capital Partnershas instead been working quietly for two years to open the doors of a new private members club, called The Wildalready in autumn.

The private equity firm that backs the famous Italian restaurant Saint Ambrose and was an investor in the British burger chain Byronbought the former Milan residence from Versace (from the fashion house family) – known as Villa del Platano – for a reported 33 million euros in 2022 and is now nearing completion of its renovation.

The economic argument is obvious, people close to the company said, given the influx of expats and wealthy individuals to Milan in recent years thanks to Italy’s generous tax breaks.

In particular, they could benefit from the fact that increasing numbers of wealthy people are planning to leave the UK in response to the abolition of the non-dom tax regime – a policy supported by the Conservatives and Labour parties.

Casa Cipriani pioneered the modern concept of private members’ clubs in the city and has been a popular hangout for fashionistas and bankers alike since it opened nearly two years ago. The Wilde hopes to appeal to figures from across the creative industry, rather than the founder of Three Hills. Mauro Moretti‘s private equity colleagues.

However, if there is a renewed influx of expats following the UK elections, the membership team may change its mind.

SoftBank does not plan to accept Elliott calls

When your CEO and founder owns about a third of the shares, it’s a little easier to ignore activists.

And if this CEO Masayoshi Son and he is determined to spend money to usher in an age of artificial superintelligence – and thereby provide the answer to humanity’s problems or predict its demise – things may be easier again.

This is certainly the attitude of SoftBankChief Financial Officer of Yoshimitsu Gotowho told the FT in Tokyo that the group does not plan to immediately buy back shares despite pressure from hedge funds Elliott management to launch a $15 billion program as soon as possible.

“We believe that now is a time when new investment activities should take place that will form the basis for the future growth of SoftBank Group,” Goto said, but explicitly declined to comment on specific discussions the company had with the hedge fund.

Elliott, which recently increased its stake by about $2 billion, is hoping that its attitude will change and that SoftBank will decide to use some of its balance sheet strength to return cash to shareholders.

However, at SoftBank’s annual meeting last month, Son said the group’s previous investments – including some disastrously large bets on startups such as We work – are merely a “warm-up exercise” for the next phase of AI, and described share buybacks as “small stuff”.

So Elliott may just have to wait until Son gets what he thinks is right. the big stuff out of the way first.

The dealmaker in “Barbarians” now hunts medium-sized coups

Steven Klinsky had a front-row seat to the most operatic takeover drama Wall Street has ever seen, the billion-dollar battle for control of RJR Nabisco.

As a partner in his early 30s at Forester FewKlinsky was a reliable number cruncher for the founder Ted Forester when the prolific financier was considering an offer for RJR to KKR-led takeover. He even had a memorable role in the saga chronicled in the classic book, Barbarians at the gate.

But when he left Forstmann Little in 1999 to start his own private equity firm based in New York, New mining capital, Klinsky decided to take a different approach.

He focused on smaller, less leveraged deals than the headline-grabbing leveraged buyouts that captured the public imagination in the turbulent 1980s.

“I’m preaching against the old private equity model from 40 years ago, where people thought you borrow as much as you can, go play golf and see if everything works out in five years,” Klinsky said in an interview with DD’s Antoine Gara.

New Mountain has grown from a firm that managed just a few billion dollars following the 2008 financial crisis to a fast-growing challenger in the private equity industry with $55 billion in assets under management.

That includes $15.4 billion raised for its seventh buyout fund, exceeding its $12 billion target in a down market. A series of big windfalls between 2020 and 2024 helped with the fundraising.

For more information on the company’s founder and his investment approach, see the FT’s weekend profile on Klinsky.

Job change

• InterContinental Hotels said Daniela Barone Soares will step down from the Board of Directors at the end of the year to devote himself to other commitments.

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has stopped Douglas Melsheimer as Managing Director in the bank’s technology investment banking group, according to Bloomberg. He comes from Barclayswhere he also served as Managing Director in technology investment banking.

Intelligent reading

Risk transfer Regulators are fueling the rise of asset managers by tightening standards for capital requirements and risk-weighted assets. The consequences are not yet clear, writes Lex.

Loss of rent Housing construction is likely to be next in trouble in the US as ratings agencies and research institutes fear that even more loans could go bad, the New York Times reports.

High discounts Given the explosive growth of Shein and Temu, Amazon should resist the temptation to join the race to the bottom and instead let the challengers perish in their fight for market share, writes Lex.

News overview

Activist investor Cevian invests in Smith & Nephew (FT)

Vodafone must more clearly recognise the shortcomings in the British telecommunications sector (Lex)