Jacob Rothschild, chairman of RIT Capital Partners investment trust, has committed £50m (€74m) in cornerstone funding to a private equity firm being set up by three former directors of Permira and CVC.

Last month, Derek Elliott and Kevin Street of Permira said they were leaving to set up a private equity boutique. They have been joined by Jonathan Kaye, previously of CVC. Elliott said the firm would target UK deals worth up to £100m. The boutique will begin external fundraising next year for its first fund, with a target size of at least £200m. The name of the firm is undecided. Permira raised an €11bn ($14.4bn) fund in the summer and has taken part in several megadeals, including the $17.6bn (€13.6bn) acquisition of US semiconductor provider Freescale. Kaye spent seven years at CVC and, like Elliott, is a director of vehicle breakdown company AA. He previously worked in corporate finance at HSBC and with Street at accountants Arthur Andersen in the 1990s.