We are not going to forget the year 2020 anytime soon. COVID-19 rattled both our professional and private lives, and now all hope rests on the efficacy and availability of vaccines to gradually restore normality in 2021.
Five new additions to the portfolio and six acquisitions
Despite the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the measures to contain it being a main focus for everyone this year, the Bregal Unternehmerkapital funds (“Bregal”) welcomed several new companies with exciting business models and significant growth potential into the portfolio in 2020. The newcomers include RELINEEUROPE, a systems supplier for the pipe repair sector, the supply chain software provider Iptor, GUS Gruppe, a leading provider of ERP and LIMS software based in Cologne, the children’s bicycle producer woom – the first investment in Austria – as well as the Karlsruhe-based STP Gruppe, a provider of digitalization solutions for insolvency administrators and attorneys. Bregal also supported its portfolio company SHD in strengthening both its geographic reach and its position as one of the leading European providers of software solutions for the furniture and kitchen sectors through the acquisition of the Italian planning software provider Tesy Software. Other key acquisitions by existing portfolio companies included Ruhesitz Stein and Alpha 24 for Deutsche Pflegegruppe, cc e-gov and regisafe for ECM-software service provider PDV, and Profity for online marketing service provider Sovendus.
Even during this challenging year, the portfolio showed great resilience and the Bregal Unternehmerkapital funds continued to be one of the most active investors in the German-speaking region. Over the last five years, a total of 57 transactions have been completed, representing EUR 1.6 billion of invested capital.
Expansion into the northern Italian market
We will now expand our recipe for success – the combination of patient family-backed capital, longstanding market and industry expertise, and an extensive international network – to a new region in addition to Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In 2021, Bregal Unternehmerkapital will open a new office in Milan, Italy. Northern Italy’s economy has always been closely interconnected with that of the DACH region and has a high number of mid-sized, family-owned businesses, many looking for succession solutions. Our goal is to support the growth potential of “hidden champions” in this region, for which we recruited an experienced investor, Valentina Pippolo as Partner and Head of Italy. She previously was Partner and Head of Italy at Alpha Group for fifteen years and will now lead our efforts in the region based out of Milan.
Team growth and development
We have continued to grow our team, which now has 37 team members including five recent investment team additions. Moreover, we congratulate three of our investment team members on their recent promotions due to their significant contributions. Effective January 2021, Philipp Struth was promoted to Partner, Stephan Schmid to Director, and Carsten Seipp to Senior Investment Manager.
Award for our social commitment
We are also pleased to have been honored for a very special team achievement close to our hearts. The City of Munich awarded Bregal the title of “Münchens ausgezeichnete Unternehmen 2020” (“Munich’s excellent companies 2020”) for our commitment to the project “Die Jugendbotschafter” (“The Youth Ambassadors”). In cooperation with the organization “Dein München gGmbH”, which we have supported since 2015, we help socially disadvantaged young people to gain access to education. The project focuses on supporting youths through tailored workshops and coaching sessions. You can find a video in German about our engagement with Dein München here.
We begin this year with confidence and are looking forward to meeting you in person again soon.
