Helen Bartley has joined BGF’s origination team in the North West. She trained as an ACA with BDO then moved into corporate finance, joined EY, then spent 10 years with Coombes Corporate Finance. She has been an independent corporate finance consultant for the past seven years.

She will be connecting the investment team with entrepreneurs and management teams across the North West, looking for patient, minority growth capital investment.

US-based private equity firm Great Hill Partners has opened a London office to expand its investment activity in the UK and Europe. Managing director Drew Loucks is its new head. Louks has been with the firm 12 years, having previously worked for Tudor Ventures and Jefferies.

KBW, the specialist financial services investment bank owned by Stifel, has promoted London-based partner Alistair McKay to head of its European arm. He is an ACA who joined KBW five years ago, having previously worked for Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse.

French PE firm Activa Capital has promoted David Quatrepoint (1) and Frédéric Singer (2) to partner in its Paris office. Both joined as associates in 2014, from Lincoln International and Natixis Partners respectively.

Czech Republic PR firm Jet Investment has opened a Warsaw office, recruiting Marek Chłopek as managing director, from Penton Partners.

Bregal Investments, the international private equity platform, has recruited Ryan Selwood as chief investment officer, from Carlyle, where he was partner and chief development officer. He previously spent more than 15 years at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and before that he was an investment banker at Merrill Lynch in New York.