A New York private equity firm has increased its stake in listed international firm DWF.

Cartesian Capital Group has acquired more than 3% of the total available share capital in DWF Group, taking its total shareholding to 4.46%.

The firm has said the investment is a sign of progress made by the business and its future potential.

Peter Yu, managing partner of Cartesian Capital Group, said: ‘Having closely reviewed DWF’s strategy and operations, we concluded that DWF’s world-class, worldwide team are creating great value for their clients - and for their stakeholders.’

The DWF share value fell by 1.27% to 70p following the announcement to the London Stock Exchange.

Cartesian has a diverse portfolio of investment, ranging from a data centre operator in Mexico to a manufacturer of LED lamps. It also has stakes in the telecoms, aviation and travel industries through involvement with various companies. In total it has committed more than $2.5bn to more than 50 firms in over 50 industries.

Like most in the legal sector, DWF has had a challenging year caused by the coronavirus epidemic. In the quarter ending 31 July, the firm said it made a £600,000 loss, against £1.9m in pre-tax profit in the same period last year, although this included a number of costs related to acquisitions that were included as requirements of accounting standards.

Group chief executive Sir Nigel Knowles said earlier this month the firm had ‘taken decisive action focused on consolidating our existing operations to increase profitability, delivering cost efficiencies and improving lock-up and cash generation’.