Permira investors redeem 13 per cent of €11.1bn fund

London-based buyout shop Permira, which has offered investors a chance to redeem some of their cash pledges to its last fund, said 13 per cent of the €11.1bn fund had been called back by cash-hungry contributors. The fund is now worth €9.6bn after 10 per cent of its investors took up the offer.

The buyout firm, which owns companies including the retailer New Look, said earlier this month it would allow backers to redeem as much as 40 per cent of their commitment to the fund. Investors are coming under pressure to redeem placements in areas such as private equity and hedge funds, and buyout firms, in the absence of easy debt, are struggling to put their money to work. Those investors redeeming will continue to pay the full management fees based on their original contributions to the fund plus forgo 25 per cent of their returns.