Munich, London, Paris — Silverfleet Capital, the European private equity firm specializing in “buy to build”, is further expanding its investment activities. Alex Brebbia joins the team as Co-Head for smaller mid-market investments and Erik Fuchs comes on board as Co-Head for the Benelux region based in Amsterdam.
Alex Brebbia will support the team from London as a partner. Together with David MacKenzie, he leads Silverfleet Capital’s investment activities in the lower and middle market segments. Silverfleet concentrates here on companies with an enterprise value of between 25 and 75 million euros.
He has a long and successful track record investing in smaller buyouts and most recently served as Managing Partner at Spring Ventures. Prior to that, he was co-head of Barclays Ventures. Brebbia started his private equity career in 1997 at 3i, first in Edinburgh and later in Dublin. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from Durham University and earned his chartered accountant credential with PwC.
Erik Fuchs joins the team from Amsterdam, supporting Adrian Yurkwich as co-head of the Benelux region. Most recently, he worked at Alpha Private Equity and in corporate finance at Rabobank, Lazard and ABN AMRO. Fuchs holds a master’s degree in business administration from Erasmus University in Rotterdam.
Neil MacDougall, Managing Partner at Silverfleet Capital, commented, “We are delighted to have Alex Brebbia and Erik Fuchs newly on board at Silverfleet. Both have many years of experience that they will bring to their new roles at Silverfleet. Together, we will continue to develop our track record in both the lower and mid-market segments as well as in the Benelux.”
Silverfleet Capital has a long track record of investing in the low to mid-market and Benelux. The team has completed 21 smaller buyout deals that generated an investment multiple of 2.8. This includes the acquisition of TMF, a services company based in Amsterdam, which Silverfleet acquired along with SNS Reaal’s management — an example of a very successful buy-to-build investment. During Silverfleet’s holding period, TMF has made more than 50 add-on acquisitions worldwide. The sale generated a 6.2x investment multiple and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 57%.
About Silverfleet Capital
Silverfleet Capital has been active as a private equity investor in the European mid-market for more than 30 years and currently manages around €1.2 billion with its 30-strong investment team in Munich, London, Paris, Stockholm and Amsterdam.
Eight investments have already been made from the second independent fund closed in 2015 with a volume of 870 million euros: The Masai Clothing Company, a women’s fashion wholesaler and retailer headquartered in Denmark; Coventya, a French developer of specialty chemicals; Sigma Components, a British manufacturer of precision components for civil aviation; Lifetime Training, a British provider of training programs; Pumpenfabrik Wangen, a manufacturer of specialty pumps based in Germany; Riviera Travel, a British operator of escorted group tours and cruises; 7days, a Westphalian supplier of medical workwear; and Prefere Resins, a leading phenolic and amino resin manufacturer in Europe.
Silverfleet achieves value growth through its “buy to build” investment strategy. As part of this strategy, Silverfleet is accelerating the growth of its subsidiaries by investing in new products, production capacity and employees, installing successful retail formats or making follow-up acquisitions. Since 2004, Silverfleet Capital has invested €1.9 billion in 28 companies.
Silverfleet specializes in four key industries: Business and Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Retail and Consumer Goods. Since 2004, the private equity investor has invested 33 percent of its assets in companies headquartered in the DACH region, 31 percent in the UK and Ireland, 19 percent in Scandinavia and 17 percent mainly in France and the Benelux countries (1).
Silverfleet Capital has a solid investment track record. Most recently, Silverfleet sold Ipes, a leading provider of outsourcing services to European private equity firms (investment multiple 3.7x); CCC, one of the leading BPO services providers in Europe, as well as Cimbria, a Danish manufacturer of agricultural equipment (2); Kalle, a German manufacturer of artificial sausage pellets (investment multiple 3.5x); OFFICE, a UK footwear retailer (investment multiple 3.4x); and Aesica, a leading pharmaceutical CDMO company (investment multiple 3.3x).
