Newcomer Da Vinci Capital Management is to list a flagship fund in London on Thursday, but the company said it would be hard to raise the hoped for funds amid difficult market conditions.

The private-equity firm, which is focused on Russia and the former Soviet Union, will offer shares in the fund on London's Specialist Fund Market, where it hopes to raise from $15 million to $40 million, said Natalya Ivanova, a managing director at the company.

The company had earlier hoped to attract as much as $150 million through the placement.

"For now, we are just focused on getting ourselves admitted," Ivanova said, adding that the firm would consider a further share placement in September if market conditions improve. "We had to postpone the IPO several times because the market for this type of fund has not been so good."

Da Vinci was set up last year by Oleg Jelezko, formerly of Renaissance Capital, with seed investor BSG taking a 50 percent stake. The company raised $90 million for the fund in a private placement in December and has committed $72 million to private-equity deals so far, Ivanova said.

"This [IPO] is very important because it is our first product," she said. "It's a chance to show everybody what we can do, and how we can do it."

Russian listings have gotten off to a slow start this year, with only a handful of companies plowing ahead with plans to raise capital. Earlier this month, railway freight company Globaltrans said it raised $449.4 million in London, and retailer Magnit raised $480.25 million in a secondary placement offering.

"Investors are going to be selective, and they have a choice," said Jon Edwards, a senior manager for Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS at the London Stock Exchange. "They are going to be looking at the management team, their experience and previous endeavors."