16 December 2016
OpCapita nominated for Private Equity International Award
OpCapita, the European private equity partnership, is delighted to announce it has been shortlisted for Private Equity International's Special Situations/Turnaround Firm of the Year Award 2016.
OpCapita has been nominated for the prestigious award, which will be announced in March 2017, in recognition of its outstanding achievements over the past year. During its tenth anniversary year, OpCapita closed Fund II on its €350m hard-cap, and announced the sale of French homeware chain BUT, as well as the acquisition of womenswear retailer AppelrathCüpper and some key hires.
The Firm announced the final closing of its second fund, OpCapita Consumer Opportunities Fund II, at the hard cap of €350 million. Fund II was significantly oversubscribed and received strong support from a diverse group of global investors, including pension funds, endowments, funds of funds, family offices and charitable foundations, predominantly from the US and Europe. The closing of the Firm's second fund came just two years after the closing of Fund I and was more than three times the size of Fund I, reflecting the strong demand of investors who had closely tracked OpCapita's success in operational turnarounds.
In June, it was reported that OpCapita, Colony Capital and Goldman Sachs had entered a binding arrangement to exit French homeware chain BUT via a secondary buyout to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) and WM Holding (an investment company associated with the XXL Lutz group). The transaction closed in November 2016.
OpCapita completed its acquisition of Reiner AppelrathCüpper Nachf, a leading designer womenswear retailer in Germany, in July. AppelrathCüpper operates 13 stores across key cities in Germany selling high-end brands including Hugo Boss, Marc Cain, Burberry, Armani Collezioni, Tommy Hilfiger and Marco Polo as well as its own private label range.
OpCapita also recently appointed John Coleman as Operating Partner and Nicholas Pouzin as Director. John joined OpCapita in October and has also been appointed Chairman of OpCapita portfolio company, AppelrathCüpper. John brings with him a wealth of experience, having spent over thirty years' in consumer and retail businesses, including as Chief Executive of House of Fraser Plc from 1996 until 2006. Nicholas joined OpCapita at the beginning of October and will be responsible for co-ordinating the firm's efforts in the origination of new investment opportunities. Prior to joining OpCapita, Nicholas was a Vice President in the Investment Banking team in Morgan Stanley, responsible for the origination and execution of M&A, LBO, financing and IPO transactions for financial sponsors. The new appointments continue the development and strengthening of OpCapita's team, which has increased from eight to 15 people over the last two years. Since raising the firm's first institutional fund in 2014, OpCapita has made a number of appointments, including: Helen Gaffney and Javier Gonzalez joined as Associates, Simon Millerchip re-joined as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Compliance, and Caroline Crowley was appointed to the newly created role of Director of Investor Relations.
The polls close on Thursday 5 January. To vote for OpCapita, please access the Private Equity International 2016 Awards site via the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PEI-awards-16?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PEI%20Weekly%20Europe%202016-12-02&utm_term=PEI%20Weekly%20EUR
About OpCapita
Founded in 2006, OpCapita is a European private equity firm specialising in the retail, consumer and leisure industries. OpCapita actively invests in companies where there is an opportunity to deliver improvements in profitability and create long-term, sustainable value.
OpCapita's team of in-house operating partners has decades of experience in consumer-facing businesses and a widespread network of contacts and specialists. The team adopts a hands-on approach to the companies in which it invests, drawing on exceptional management talent to deliver on its investments.
Over the past ten years, OpCapita has invested over €450 million in businesses in the UK, France, Germany and Spain. OpCapita closed its first dedicated fund, OpCapita Consumer Opportunities Fund LP, at the end of 2014.
For further information, please contact:
UK Media
Greenbrook Communications
Andrew Honnor/Matthew Goodman/James Madsen
Tel: +44 207 952 2000
Email: opcapita@greenbrookpr.com
Spain Media
Grupo Albion
José García Villardefrancos
Tel: +34 687 992 789
Email: jgarcia@grupoalbion.net
The Firm announced the final closing of its second fund, OpCapita Consumer Opportunities Fund II, at the hard cap of €350 million. Fund II was significantly oversubscribed and received strong support from a diverse group of global investors, including pension funds, endowments, funds of funds, family offices and charitable foundations, predominantly from the US and Europe. The closing of the Firm's second fund came just two years after the closing of Fund I and was more than three times the size of Fund I, reflecting the strong demand of investors who had closely tracked OpCapita's success in operational turnarounds.
In June, it was reported that OpCapita, Colony Capital and Goldman Sachs had entered a binding arrangement to exit French homeware chain BUT via a secondary buyout to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) and WM Holding (an investment company associated with the XXL Lutz group). The transaction closed in November 2016.
OpCapita completed its acquisition of Reiner AppelrathCüpper Nachf, a leading designer womenswear retailer in Germany, in July. AppelrathCüpper operates 13 stores across key cities in Germany selling high-end brands including Hugo Boss, Marc Cain, Burberry, Armani Collezioni, Tommy Hilfiger and Marco Polo as well as its own private label range.
OpCapita also recently appointed John Coleman as Operating Partner and Nicholas Pouzin as Director. John joined OpCapita in October and has also been appointed Chairman of OpCapita portfolio company, AppelrathCüpper. John brings with him a wealth of experience, having spent over thirty years' in consumer and retail businesses, including as Chief Executive of House of Fraser Plc from 1996 until 2006. Nicholas joined OpCapita at the beginning of October and will be responsible for co-ordinating the firm's efforts in the origination of new investment opportunities. Prior to joining OpCapita, Nicholas was a Vice President in the Investment Banking team in Morgan Stanley, responsible for the origination and execution of M&A, LBO, financing and IPO transactions for financial sponsors. The new appointments continue the development and strengthening of OpCapita's team, which has increased from eight to 15 people over the last two years. Since raising the firm's first institutional fund in 2014, OpCapita has made a number of appointments, including: Helen Gaffney and Javier Gonzalez joined as Associates, Simon Millerchip re-joined as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Compliance, and Caroline Crowley was appointed to the newly created role of Director of Investor Relations.
The polls close on Thursday 5 January. To vote for OpCapita, please access the Private Equity International 2016 Awards site via the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PEI-awards-16?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PEI%20Weekly%20Europe%202016-12-02&utm_term=PEI%20Weekly%20EUR
About OpCapita
Founded in 2006, OpCapita is a European private equity firm specialising in the retail, consumer and leisure industries. OpCapita actively invests in companies where there is an opportunity to deliver improvements in profitability and create long-term, sustainable value.
OpCapita's team of in-house operating partners has decades of experience in consumer-facing businesses and a widespread network of contacts and specialists. The team adopts a hands-on approach to the companies in which it invests, drawing on exceptional management talent to deliver on its investments.
Over the past ten years, OpCapita has invested over €450 million in businesses in the UK, France, Germany and Spain. OpCapita closed its first dedicated fund, OpCapita Consumer Opportunities Fund LP, at the end of 2014.
For further information, please contact:
UK Media
Greenbrook Communications
Andrew Honnor/Matthew Goodman/James Madsen
Tel: +44 207 952 2000
Email: opcapita@greenbrookpr.com
Spain Media
Grupo Albion
José García Villardefrancos
Tel: +34 687 992 789
Email: jgarcia@grupoalbion.net