A group of senior City figures is in talks to raise hundreds of millions of pounds for a new listed vehicle that would be used to target a major corporate takeover.

Sky News has learnt that JRJ Group, which was co-founded by the former Lehman Brothers executives Jeremy Isaacs and Roger Nagioff, is orchestrating talks with investors about the launch of a London-listed acquisition company.

TOMS Capital, which was established by former hedge fund manager Noam Gottesman, is also involved in the new venture, which has been codenamed Project Mayflower.

This weekend, City sources said that initial discussions with institutional investors about backing the vehicle had already got underway.

One of those approached about it said the talks were expected to be accelerated in the coming weeks amid signs of strong demand.

The group is said to be targeting an initial fundraising of about $500m, with scores of takeover targets in multiple industries likely to be reviewed.

They are understood to be particularly focused on bid targets worth between $2bn and $5bn.

Jefferies, the investment bank, is involved in the listing plan.

One source said the founders had chosen London because of its investor-friendly structure for so-called cash shells.

The vehicle’s launch comes at a time when London’s depressed environment for initial public offerings (IPOs) has coincided with pressure on asset-owners such as private equity firms to generate liquidity from their portfolios.

This combination of factors had created “a generational opportunity to buy assets at attractive prices”, the source added.

Mayflower’s founders are expected to invest significant amounts of their own money in the venture to ensure alignment with external investors.

Since leaving Lehman prior to its collapse exacerbated the global financial meltdown in 2008, Mr Isaacs and Mr Nagioff have enjoyed financial success through JRJ.

The firm was a big shareholder in Marex, a commodities broker which listed in New York last year at a valuation of over $1.3bn.

Mr Gottesman, meanwhile, has founded a string of so-called ‘blank cheque’ companies, most notable Nomad Holdings, which bought the frozen foods brand Birds Eye’s owner in a €2.6bn deal in 2015.

There have been modest signs of a revival in the London listings market in the last fortnight, with challenger bank Shawbrook Group making a strong debut this week.

Princes, the tinned food producer, had a more lacklustre start to life as a publicly traded company, with its stock closing broadly flat after opening at 475p-per-share.

Cash shells, or special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), enjoyed a multiyear boom in the US, financing takeovers of companies including Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and electric vehicle manufacturers such as Lucid and Nikola.

Many of the companies which went public in this way, including the DNA testing business 23andMe and British online car retailer Cazoo, subsequently went bust.

A number of new SPACs have emerged in recent months amid signs of renewed investor appetite for the vehicles.

None of those involved with the plan could be reached for comment on Saturday.

A “significant” step has been taken in establishing a national restorative justice programme for victims of the Post Office’s Horizon IT scandal.

Children of affected postmasters, as well as those directly hit by the faulty accounting software, will be part of the partially Fujitsu-funded programme, as the UK’s Restorative Justice Council acknowledged more than financial compensation was needed.

Money blog: Holidays blow as pound takes another battering

Data from the Fujitsu-made Horizon computer program led to the wrongful prosecution of more than 700 postmasters for theft and false accounting, while many more racked up large debts, lost homes, livelihoods and reputations as they borrowed heavily to plug the incorrectly generated shortfalls in their branches.

As part of the inquiry into the scandal, its chair, Sir Wyn Williams, recommended the government, the Post Office and Fujitsu engage in a formal restorative justice plan to provide “full and fair redress

Restorative justice aims to repair harm by bringing together victims and those responsible.

Long-sought family involvement

On Thursday, the Restorative Justice Council (RJC), which runs the project, said it would expand engagement to children and families of victims.

The move marked “a significant advancement in the establishment of a national restorative justice programme for those impacted by the Post Office Horizon IT scandal”, the body said.

Relatives have long sought acknowledgement and support for the harm they suffered.

Some have told Sky News how their eating disorder escalated due to the prosecution of a parent, and they carried trauma for decades.

Calls for a family fund were made to redress the “chances that were taken from us growing up”.

What’s involved?

Online listening sessions for children of those affected and people previously unable to attend are planned in an effort to ensure all voices contribute to the restorative justice programme.

Also involved in the initiative is equipping the government (via the Department for Business and Trade), Post Office and Fujitsu “with the necessary skills and knowledge to engage in restorative dialogue with integrity”, the RJC said.

Group-based sessions with organisations involved in the scandal and a confidential safe space service for affected people to share their experiences and explore healing without the pressure of a formal process will be created.

Freelance restorative listeners are being recruited by the service for this purpose.

The formation of the scheme acknowledges the limitations of financial redress, with the RJC saying “true restoration requires truth, acknowledgement, accountability and meaningful action beyond financial compensation”.

The funding question

The restorative listening and wellbeing service is being funded by Fujitsu.

It comes amid questions as to the contribution of the Japanese multinational to redress.

Fujitsu has said it is “morally obligated” to contribute to the costs, but the extent would be determined by the outcome of the Horizon scandal public inquiry. Further inquiry reports are to be released in the coming months.

The Post Office is government-owned and so it’s taxpayers who fund victim payouts.

What next?

The RJC initiatives are pilot schemes for now.

Feedback from them is intended to shape the design of a full, long-term, national restorative justice programme, due to launch in April.

An updated report on restorative justice for Post Office victims will be published in January.

“The next phase is about translating their voices into real, restorative action – ensuring that healing, accountability and cultural change progress hand in hand,” said RJC chief executive Jim Simon.

So far, 145 individuals have been involved, with an extra 200 postmasters expected to be engaged between November and March.

“Engagement is good and continues to grow,” Mr Simon said.

The manager of the bulk of TGI Fridays’ restaurants around the world has swooped to buy its British operations in a deal which preserves all 2,000 jobs at the chain.

Sky News has learnt that Sugarloaf TGIF Management, run by former TGI Fridays chief executive Ray Blanchette, has struck a deal to take control of nearly 50 UK sites.

Industry sources said the deal was likely to be announced within days.

Money blog: Holidays blow as pound takes another battering

The transaction will see TGI Fridays’ UK arm form part of a growing international consolidation of the brand under Mr Blanchette.

The British chain, which employs just over 2,000 people and is said to have a strong booking pipeline for the crucial festive trading period, was sold just over a year ago to Calveton UK and Breal Capital, two investment firms.

The chain now operates from roughly the same number of restaurants as it did a year ago.

In a response to an enquiry from Sky News, a spokesperson for the two selling shareholders said: “After a prolonged period of due diligence we are pleased to announce the sale of TGI Friday’s UK to Sugarloaf, the manager and custodian of the worldwide brand.

“During the 12 months of our tenure we have stabilised the team and supply chains, as well as completing the first phase of repositioning the brand through a national relaunch on July 4th this year, which has seen improvements in both revenues and covers.”

The sale of the UK business comes during a tough period for the hospitality industry, which is grappling with a stagnating economy and the impact of tax rises in last year’s budget.

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is under intense pressure not to raise business taxes further when she unveils this year’s budget late next month.