2015 Bridgepoint Annual Review

Transcription

2015 Bridgepoint
Annual Review
1
contents
Jonathan Zhou
Partner, Shanghai
2
Bridgepoint Annual Review 2015
introduction
3Introduction
4 Discover Bridgepoint
8 New investments
24 Managing Partner’s overview
34 Investment and sector expertise
72 Current investments
74 Investing responsibly
82 Bridgepoint Charitable Trust
86 Our offices
A long-established and
experienced investor
For over 25 years we’ve partnered
with management teams across Europe
to build great companies. Using local
insight, expertise and resource,
we invest in high-performing, wellmanaged businesses with the potential
to grow through expansion, operational
transformation or via acquisition.
Our aim is to build stronger, broaderbased businesses with greatly enhanced
long-term growth potential.
Guided by a clear set of values
that set out the expectations of the
Firm about how we do business
and underscore the duty to invest
responsibly, our aim is to achieve
high quality returns for our investors,
colleagues, portfolio companies and
their employees.
These values are shared across
our Firm and are fundamental to our
professional and personal conduct.
We believe they define us and help us
maintain the highest levels of corporate
governance and apply high standards
of professionalism uniformly across
Bridgepoint.
Performancedriven
one
Thoughtful
Bridgepoint
Straightforward
3
Performance-driven
We settle for nothing less than
superior performance achieved by
entrepreneurship, initiative, intelligent
judgement and teamwork
Thoughtful
We always seek to make a difference –
for investors, companies or in our duty
as a responsible investor within the
broader community
Straightforward
We are straightforward, open professionals
who act without arrogance and embrace
the views of others without prejudice
Discover Bridgepoint
Our locations
Bridgepoint has been investing
in Europe, and specifically in
middle market businesses, for over
25 years. It is a place we know
and understand. The Firm has
been able to do so successfully
thanks to its people, its network
and relationships across the
region. These have generated an
exceptionally deep and broad
flow of high quality investment
opportunities as well as compelling
returns for our investors, allowing us
in turn to become one of the leading
private equity investors in Europe.
We have a local presence in every major European private
equity market. With a network of eight European bases
and a portfolio office in Shanghai, we can deploy resources
effectively when identifying and completing transactions as
well as manage value creation in the businesses we support.
01Frankfurt
02Istanbul
03London
04Luxembourg
05Madrid
06Paris
07Shanghai
08Stockholm
09Warsaw
8
In numbers
3
6
4 1
5
4
9
2
7
€12.7bn €9.1bn
funds under
management
€25.7bn €20.5bn
total value of transactions
from €10.4bn invested
since 2000
of committed capital
raised to date
90,000 320
over 90,000 people currently
employed by Bridgepoint
portfolio companies
5
returned to investors
in last 10 years
add-on acquisitions made
by Bridgepoint companies
in last 10 years
Investors by location
Over 250 investors from
over 30 countries in
Bridgepoint funds
58%
Americas
36%
2%
European
Middle East
4%
Australasia
Investors by type
Bridgepoint has a blue chip
investor base comprising of
public and private pension funds,
asset managers, family offices,
sovereign authorities and insurance
companies around the world
Pension funds
58%
Asset manager
Fund of funds
2%
10%
Bridgepoint2%
Insurance11%
Bank2%
Sovereign wealth fund
Family office
8%
Endowment6%
1%
Through its portfolio...
Business Services
€1.7 billion invested
in 15 companies in
the European Business
Services sector in the
last 10 years.
€1bn
€1.7bn
€1.4bn
6
Manufacturing
& Industrials
€1 billion invested
in seven companies
in the European
Manufacturing
& Industrials sector
in the last 10 years.
Portfolio growth in 2015
9% 14%
Revenue
Ian Dougan
Managing Director,
Operational Support Group
Media & Technology
in 10 companies in
European Media &
Technology sector
€1.5bn
€1.9bn
Healthcare
in 10 companies
in the European
Healthcare sector
€500m
7
Consumer
in 14 companies in
Consumer sector
Financial Services
€500 million invested
in four companies in
the European Financial
Services sector in the
last 10 years.
EBITDA
New investments
New investments
Bright futures
Identifying
value
In 2015 we invested
€950m in seven new
businesses with a total
enterprise value of €2.4bn.
Bridgepoint-owned
businesses made 42 additional
acquisitions in the year as they
pursued consolidation and
internationalisation strategies.
8
Exceeding
targets
Bridgepoint investments
returned over €1.8bn of
capital to investors with
seven major exits.
Business
growth
Fund investments collectively
generated 9% and 14% yearon-year average revenue
EBITDA growth.
Investments made in 2015
In 2015 Europe continued to provide a
high quality range of growth-focused
middle market businesses. Bridgepoint’s
broad investment and operational
resources were strongly positioned
to exploit the opportunities provided
in Europe as the home of numerous
world-leading domestic and exporting
enterprises.
Our focus on six sectors brings us an
in depth understanding of market trends
as well as extensive industrial networks
and relationships. In certain cases it can
also generate investment opportunities
outside intermediated processes as well
as the market knowledge to accelerate
growth in current portfolio companies.
In 2015 we sought out sectors with
strong underlying structural growth
drivers growing well ahead of the
broader economy or where Europe has
global competitive advantage. Similarly,
businesses with high visibility of earnings
and contracted income that were overt
beneficiaries of economic recovery were
on our radar.
We also have a long-standing track
record of acquiring sector leaders
operating in fragmented markets and
using them as platforms for consolidation
at accretive valuations.
Generating ‘internal growth’ through
operational improvement was also an
important driver of earnings growth.
We are well resourced to deliver farreaching business transformation
thanks to an extensive team including
an Operational Support Group, Portfolio
Development Office in Shanghai and a
Procurement Team that is unique within
European middle market private equity.
“Broad investment and
operational resources
were strongly positioned to
exploit the opportunities
provided by Europe as the
home of numerous worldleading domestic and
exporting enterprises.”
Guy Weldon
Partner and Chief Investment Officer
9
New investments
New investments
Anaveo
10
Anaveo is a French provider of electronic security solutions
such as video surveillance, security access control and intrusion
detection to small and medium sized businesses.
Established in 1995 and headquartered in Lyon, it has
installed its security systems at over 8,000 sites across France for
a predominantly retail client base of mostly independent retailers,
as well as larger integrated chains. It has a network of 11 agencies
and 270 employees across France and in 2011 opened a subsidiary
in China to set up a direct sourcing strategy and establish a
commercial presence there. The company designs its leading
products using an in-house research and development team,
managing new product development and the group’s proprietary
software solutions.
The French video surveillance market has demonstrated
resilient historic growth and is forecast to expand at 5% p.a. based
on continued penetration of video surveillance systems, upgrades
to latest technology solutions and a growing replacement market
reflecting the progressive shift within its target installed base from
analogue to IP systems. With Anaveo’s recent product launches
comes the potential to sell into the larger, adjacent €2bn access
control market.
Anaveo’s market is highly fragmented with over 40% of the
segment comprised of smaller independent players providing
the opportunity to accelerate growth via add-on acquisitions. In
addition, expansion into new end-markets and the upselling of
new product technologies in access control and anti-intrusion
systems are also planned.
This investment was made by BDC, the Bridgepoint fund
that invests in small and mid-cap companies.
“Anaveo’s differentiated expertise,
product reliability and ease of
use have enabled it to outperform
the market.”
Olivier Nemsguern
Partner, Bridgepoint Development Capital
Not disclosed
Transaction size
€43.7m
Revenue
270
Employees
Sector
Business Services
Location
France
Directors
Grégory Louis
Fabrice Tisseur
Bridgepoint
representatives
Bertrand Demesse
Olivier Nemsguern
Website
www.anaveo.com
11
New investments
New investments
Appleby Fiduciary & Administration
12
Appleby Fiduciary & Administration (‘AFB’) provides Trust &
Corporate Services to a wide range of clients in nine jurisdictions
around the world. Clients range from large global corporations
from all sectors, to high net worth individuals, families and fund
managers, including private equity, hedge funds, real estate and
other alternative fund structures.
AFB has three key business lines administering over 10,000
structures for almost 6,000 clients: Corporate Administration
which provides incorporation and domiciliation services, Trust
Administration which establishes trust structures and then provides
day-to-day administration services, and Fund Services, which assists
in the launch, incorporation and administration of funds.
The company operates in a market benefitting from long-term
structural drivers such as increased regulation, outsourcing and
globalisation, all of which lead to underlying annual market growth
of 7% globally.
In addition, it is a fragmented market with a large range of
small, sub-scale players. There is therefore a clear opportunity for
AFB to acquire competitors of various sizes, ranging from individual
books of business to larger transformational, multi-jurisdiction
or multiservice line businesses. Over time this will allow AFB to
consider diversifying by product and geography.
Not disclosed
Transaction size
$84.6m
Revenue
350
Employees
Sector
Financial Services
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Farah Ballands
Scott Carter
Roger Siddle
Bridgepoint
representatives
William Paul
Emma Watford
Website
www.applebyglobal.com
“Appleby brings significant
opportunity to accelerate its
growth organically and via
acquisition in what remains
a strongly growing market.”
William Paul
Partner, Head of Financial Services sector
13
New investments
New investments
Balt
14
Balt is a leading French medtech business in the fast-growing
neurovascular market.
Founded in 1977, it specialises in the design, manufacture
and distribution of neurovascular devices and products that treat
complex, life-threatening conditions of the brain, specifically
strokes, aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).
The company employs 90 people at its facilities in Montmorency
(France) and Gland (Switzerland).
The business focuses on so-called interventional
neuroendovascular radiology (or INR) therapy, involving minimally
invasive techniques, as opposed to traditional ‘open’ surgery,
to correct and stabilise these damaging conditions. Successful
intervention using INR techniques leads to substantially improved
post-operative outcomes when compared to traditional surgeries
and significant reductions in the levels of costly after-care required.
INR devices include access and support (catheters, guidewires),
embolisation (coils, stents, embolic liquid) and thrombectomy
devices (stent retrievers).
Balt serves French hospitals directly and has an international
network of over 100 distributors covering Europe and beyond.
Volumes of INR devices, currently estimated to be worth
€1bn, are expected to grow at double digit rates as the number of
patients diagnosed with and treated for neurovascular problems
using INR techniques grows, on the back of an ageing population
and increased rates of obesity.
Not disclosed
Transaction size
€40m
Revenue
90
Employees
Sector
Healthcare
Location
France
Directors
Hervé Novelli
Nicolas Plowiecki
Marina Plowiecki
Stéphane Regnault
Oern Stuge
Bridgepoint
representatives
Vincent-Gaël Baudet
Frédéric Pescatori
Website
www.balt.fr
“Balt will be able to accelerate its
growth, add further production
capacity, enlarge its distribution
network and attract new
customers, while maintaining
its innovative edge.”
Partner, Paris
15
New investments
New investments
The Dining Club Group
16
The Dining Club Group is the UK’s largest discount diners’ club
with over four million members. It works with some of the
country’s most popular restaurant chains, as well as over 6,000
independent restaurants.
It operates two branded membership cards, tastecard and
the Gourmet Society, and offers a compelling proposition for
consumers thanks to the size of its restaurant network and level
and consistency of discount. The company sells memberships
through three channels: direct to consumers, to consumers via
company employee benefit schemes, and to corporates who
offer their customers memberships as part of a bundled offering,
such as a premium bank account.
Over the year a Dining Club member is able to make
considerable savings on eating out, with only two to three uses of
the card typically paying back the initial outlay for membership.
In parallel, participating restaurants gain profitable incremental
footfall. Total UK consumer spend on eating out was £78 billion
in 2014. Regular diners eat out on average 34 times a year;
discount card members by contrast eat out 45 times a year.
With discounted dining now an established feature of the
growing eating out market, the sector is now being increasingly
driven by the technology needs of the consumer. The company
will therefore extend its technological capabilities and broaden
its geographical coverage to consolidate its already significant
share of the UK discount dining club market.
“With our support we are
confident that the Group will
grow its member and restaurant
numbers, broaden its geographic
coverage and extend its
technological capability.”
Alan Payne
Partner, Bridgepoint Development Capital
Not disclosed
Transaction size
£17.5m
Revenue
102
Employees
Sector
Consumer
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Annette Court
Dave Cuckney
Ben Eaton
Sam Shaw
Matt Turner
Bridgepoint
representatives
Matt Legg
Alan Payne
Kevin Reynolds
Websites
www.tastecard.co.uk
www.gourmetsociety.co.uk
17
New investments
New investments
Element Materials Technology
18
Element Materials Technology is a global leader in materials and
product qualification testing for the aerospace, oil & gas and
transportation markets – all of which require technical testing
services with mission-critical applications.
The company began life as the in-house laboratories testing
business of a European aerospace and defence business but today
it has 53 laboratories in Europe, the US and China, over 1,800
employees and 10,000 customers worldwide. It focuses on two
core activities: Materials Testing, which involves the testing in one
of its certified laboratories of a material, product or welded joint,
often placing it under extreme pressure and heat; and Production
Qualification Testing, which is typically carried out before a
product or component goes into production so that it can be
certified and pass the appropriate quality assurance tests.
The Testing, Inspection and Certification market is growing
strongly on the back of increasing regulatory and complexity
requirements. In addition, long-term outsourcing trends and the
consolidation of suppliers (as the OEMs increasingly demand
consistent standards and ‘one stop shop’ testing providers
across fragmented supply chains), will provide opportunities
for Element to grow.
The testing market globally remains fragmented, particularly
in aerospace where Element already leads the market. There is
therefore significant potential to accelerate Element’s growth
through further market consolidation.
“As a platform investment
in a sector with significant
consolidation potential, this is
an opportunity for Element to
continue to grow strongly.”
Chris Busby
Partner, Head of investment in the UK
Not disclosed
Transaction size
$291m
Revenue
1,800
Employees
Sector
Business Services
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Charles Noall
Jo Wetz
Bridgepoint
representatives
Chris Busby
Raoul Hughes
Website
www.element.com
19
New investments
New investments
MVF
20
MVF is a technology-enabled provider of international online
lead generation services to a variety of industry sectors including
various B2B markets, market research, relocations, education,
clean tech and healthcare.
It specialises in online customer acquisition and lead
generation using proprietary technology, data-driven analytics
and in-house digital marketing expertise to provide some of
the world’s leading brands with high volumes of potential new
customers that generate a strong return on investment.
The global growth in digital advertising spend, and the
complexity challenges created by trends such as the rapid
growth of mobile advertising, social media and digital marketing
channels, is driving a strong demand for outsourced online
lead generation to digital specialists like MVF. Although lead
generation currently accounts for less than 5% of the digital
advertising market, it is growing at 20% pa.
MVF is growing rapidly based on strong points of difference
including deep in-house online digital marketing expertise,
efficient proprietary technology and a scale advantage over
competitors that allows it to deliver a high volume of international
sales-ready leads to its customers with strong ROI transparency.
Not disclosed
Transaction size
£36m
Revenue
310
Employees
Sector
Media & Technology
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Jules Hopkinson
Tom Morgan
Peter Rigby
Titus Sharpe
Michael Teixeira
Bridgepoint
representatives
Michael Black
Robin Lawson
Website
www.mvfglobal.com
“Growth will continue to
accelerate as the business
deepens its presence in existing
industry sectors, adds new ones
and expands internationally.”
Robin Lawson
Director, Bridgepoint Development Capital
21
New investments
New investments
Nordic Cinema Group
22
Headquartered in Stockholm, the Nordic Cinema Group (‘NCG’)
is the leading cinema operator in the Nordic region with 70
cinemas, 472 screens and a 44% share of total Nordic box office
revenues. It was formed in 2013 through the merger of SF Bio
and Finnkino, although its presence in the region has been
built up over many decades through greenfield investments and
consolidation in larger cities.
NCG’s cinema estate consists of well-invested modern
and comfortable cinemas with the latest technology. Sites are
typically focused around large and mid-sized cities, and are often
in high-footfall locations such as shopping malls, transport hubs
or cultural centres. With over 23m admissions per annum NCG
has c.10m individual customers visiting its sites across the region
each year, equating to almost 30% of the total population.
With a strong focus on innovation, NCG cinemas feature
premium seating and VIP screening rooms, as well as the first
IMAX screen in Sweden, opened in Stockholm in 2015, with a
second planned in Oslo in 2017.
Although NCG is the clear market leader with a wellinvested estate in prime urban locations, it also has room to
expand organically in its core markets. Further scope exists to
accelerate growth through smaller bolt-on acquisitions, in the
region and in adjacent geographies.
As evidenced by growing admission trends over recent
years, cinema as an affordable out-of-home experience
remains robust despite potentially disruptive technological
developments. It also represents an increasingly important and
profitable part of the movie industry, notwithstanding these new
forms of content delivery.
“There is scope to further enrich
the whole cinema experience and
for NCG to accelerate its growth.”
Mikael Lövgren
Chairman of Bridgepoint in the Nordic region
SEK4.7bn
Transaction size
SEK2.9bn
Revenue
1,500
Employees
Sector
Consumer
Location
Sweden
Directors
Anders Ehrling
Erik Haegerstrand
Torsten Larsson
Simon Wright
Bridgepoint
representatives
Christopher Bley
Mika Herold
Mikael Lövgren
Website
www.nordiccinema
group.com
23
M a n a g i n g Par t n e r ’ s o v e r v i e w
Strategy
on track
2015 was a year where we
successfully sought new
opportunities in growth
companies across Europe.
People
and talent
14 new team members
joined us in 2015,
adding to our
strengths and depth.
24
Facing into
the future
Volatility will create
opportunity and we will
continue to exploit our
position in Europe’s
middle market.
Portfolio
momentum
A message from our
Managing Partner
Operating highlights
I am pleased to report that Bridgepoint
enjoyed a strong year in 2015 with our
two businesses, Bridgepoint Europe
and Bridgepoint Development Capital,
achieving excellent results thanks to the
performance of the companies owned by
Bridgepoint funds and our own team’s
skill in investing, managing businesses
and selling well.
Over the last 12 months we have
carefully sought out interesting new
investment opportunities in growth
companies across Europe. During the
year we invested €950 million in seven
companies with a total enterprise value
of €2.4 billion. In addition, Bridgepoint–
owned businesses completed 42 addon acquisitions in the year, pursuing
consolidation strategies to build scale
and improve their competitive position.
Importantly we matched this new
investment activity with strong exit
results returning some €1.8 billion to
our investors in 2015, a number that
exceeded our initial expectations for
the year by some measure.
Resilience and an ability
to drive long-term value
creation characterised
much of the work of
our portfolio.
By the end of 2015, Bridgepoint
Europe V, the €4 billion middle market
buyout fund that we finished raising
earlier in the year, had made its fifth
investment and its new investments were
already pursuing accelerated growth
through add-on acquisitions in line with
the Fund’s original strategy.
Bridgepoint Development Capital
II, our €350 million lower mid-market
buyout and growth capital fund, has
now committed a large part of its
primary capital, with 11 transactions in
the portfolio at the end of the year. As a
result, we expect to return to investors
in 2016 to raise a larger successor fund
to continue to build this practice, which
has flourished under the leadership of
Michael Black and his colleagues.
“Over the last 12 months we
have carefully sought out
interesting new investment
opportunities in growth
companies across Europe.
During the year we
invested €950 million in
seven companies with a
total enterprise value of
€2.4 billion.”
25
26
Europe and the environment
for investing
The contrast between improving
economic fundamentals in
Europe and periodic outbreaks
of macro volatility resulted in an
uneven year for the investment
outlook in 2015. The slowing rate
of economic growth in China
contributed to weaker European
equity market sentiment. This
was offset by better than forecast
underlying progress in European
economies boosted by the
benefit of a lower Euro helping
the region’s many exporters and
falling oil prices continuing to
act as an economic stimulus,
putting money back into the
pockets of consumers.
During 2015 acquisition
pricing remained high in
Europe, driven by favourable
debt markets and a recognition
from international investors that
Europe represented a good cycle
play, especially on a currencyadjusted basis. This remained
both a blessing and a challenge,
depending on whether you were
buying or selling. As a result,
buying well, which is always our
number one focus, required high
quality origination, absolute
clarity of investment case,
transaction selectivity and a
focus on relative value based
on looking at sector by sector
valuations over the long term.
It also meant that
Bridgepoint’s broad investment
and operational resources across
Europe were deployed with a
particular focus on investing in
businesses with a combination
of characteristics: sustainable
end-market growth, disciplined
investment at attractive
valuations, value creation
opportunities via market
consolidation and operational
expertise. These are all reflected
in the new investments made by
both BDC and BE in the year.
In this environment revenue
development initiatives featured
heavily in the Bridgepoint portfolio,
examples of which include
expansion of LGC into China and
the US, new school construction
at CEG, new classes of vehicle
tests for TüvTurk in Turkey, R&D
programmes at AHT and eFront,
and Solhaga’s expansion outside
of Sweden into the Norwegian
market. All are aimed at driving
sales growth.
A continued high level of
add-on acquisition activity is also
helping value creation. In 2015
this ranged from LGC’s £90m
US acquisition (just prior to its
subsequent sale at the end of
2015) to smaller in-fill acquisitions
completed at CEG, Moneycorp,
Foncia, Oasis and Azzurri.
“Buying well required high quality
origination, absolute clarity of
investment case, transaction selectivity
and a focus on relative value.”
Portfolio performance
Fabrice Turcq
Investment Director, Paris
Revenue growth
11%
2013
12%
2014
9%
2015
EBITDA growth
13%
2013
Portfolio momentum
Bridgepoint funds’ investments
collectively generated 9%
and 14% year-on-year average
revenue and EBITDA growth.
This is a real demonstration
of our portfolio companies’
continuing resilience and ability
to drive long-term value creation
in what in Europe remains
a relatively low-growth and
frequently volatile environment.
11%
2014
14%
2015
27
Patrick Fox
Partner, Operational
Support Group
28
“In 2015 Bridgepoint
investments returned
over €1.8 billion of
capital to investors with
seven major exits.”
Marc Zügel
Partner, Head of investment in Germany
Chris Busby
Partner, Head of investment in the UK
Returning capital to investors
In 2015 Bridgepoint investments
returned over €1.8 billion of
capital to investors with seven
major exits, including the sales of
Ponant, the specialist luxury cruise
operator and market leader in
specialist polar cruises, to Artémis,
the holding company of French
entrepreneur Francois Pinault,
Infront Sports & Media to Dalian
Wanda Group, one of China’s
leading conglomerates; and LGC,
the international life sciences
company, to KKR, and Quotient
Clinical, the early-stage drug
development services provider,
to GHO Capital.
Our Capital Markets team
also took advantage of buoyant
conditions in the European
leveraged loans market to arrange
debt totalling €3.4 billion, allowing
us to balance better borrowerfriendly terms with the need for
prudent leverage in the growth
companies that characterise
Bridgepoint’s middle market
activities. It also meant that our
investments continue to enjoy
meaningful liquidity, headroom
and flexibility as they grow.
Finally, at the end of 2015,
we also transferred interests in a
number of the residual assets in a
mature fund, Bridgepoint Europe
III, to a global institutional
investor. The transaction will
provide over €300 million of
liquidity to the Fund when it
completes in early 2016.
Capital returned
2015
2014
2013
2012
€1.2bn
€892m
€1.8bn
€2.0bn
29
30
People and talent
During the year Bridgepoint
welcomed 14 new team members
across Europe, including a new
partner to our Paris office, Denis
Villafranca, and another in Madrid,
Héctor Pérez. The strength and
depth of our team has always been
a distinguishing characteristic
of Bridgepoint as a business.
Yet we have always recognised that
new individuals bring different
important perspectives, especially
at the beginning of the investment
of a new fund. Our ability to
continue to develop the talent
of our own longstanding team
members as well as attract new
ones therefore remains critical to
our success. If we are to continue to
improve, we must evolve.
On a more personal note,
I want to pay tribute to a group
of colleagues who in 2015
independently undertook to
fundraise for Myeloma UK, a cancer
charity, in memory of a colleague,
Jan Hester, who sadly passed away
in 2014. A team of 17 colleagues set
out to climb the three largest peaks
in the UK in 24 hours which they
achieved in time. They raised over
£31,000 which the Bridgepoint
Charitable Trust then matched.
It’s heartening in these times to
see the spirit of cooperation and
kindness that people display.
Everyone at Bridgepoint was
especially proud that people they
work with every day undertook
such a difficult challenge for a
such a worthy cause.
2016: looking ahead
As we enter 2016 the volatility that
characterised 2015 will continue
for some time to come. Perhaps
paradoxically, volatility has already
created interesting investment
opportunities albeit that a targeted
approach to investment has to be
maintained.
That is why the priorities
for our Firm in 2016 are very
clear. First, we will continue to be
disciplined in our pricing and make
investments borne of intelligent
judgement. This not only means
exploiting our attractive position
in Europe’s middle market but also
buying well with proper regard to
risk and reward. It also extends
to working to create value in our
investments by focusing on revenue
growth, operational improvement
and accretive add-on acquisitions.
Second, we aim to continue
to return meaningful amounts of
“I want to pay tribute to a
group of colleagues who
in 2015 independently
undertook to fundraise
for Myeloma UK, a
cancer charity, in
memory of a colleague,
Jan Hester, who sadly
passed away at a young
age in 2014.”
Guy Weldon
Partner and Chief Investment Officer
31
“Our ability to continue
to develop the talent of
our own longstanding
team members as well
as attract new ones
therefore remains
critical to our success.”
Partner, Head of investment in France
Charlotte Kitabgi
Senior Associate, Paris
capital to our investors. Through
our sector-based approach
implemented locally across a
pan-European platform, our funds
have consistently generated strong
capital returns to our investors
throughout different economic
cycles. Our aim therefore in 2016
is to continue this trend, with
strong realisations as we take
advantage of favourable markets
for selling assets.
And third, as our lower
middle market business
Bridgepoint Development Capital
moves towards making its last
investment from its BDC II fund,
as noted, we expect it to return
to the market in 2016 to raise a
larger successor fund for what
remains a very attractive and active
part of the private equity market
in Europe.
I, and my fellow partners, are
aware of the huge amount of work
James Reynolds
Investment Director,
London
32
“In productive
partnership with
our management
teams and the
people working
in Bridgepoint
companies, we start
2016 excited by
the opportunities
presented by the times
and well positioned
for the future.”
William Jackson
Managing Partner
and commitment that lies behind
Bridgepoint’s results. Behind the
achievements I have summarised
here are a very dedicated group of
people – the management teams
and over 90,000 employees of the
companies we back. I thank them
for their contribution, dedication
and hard work in 2015.
The ambition of our own
Bridgepoint colleagues across
Europe and in China has also been
undiminished and I thank them too
for their energy and commitment.
Finally, it’s encouraging to
conclude this review by noting
that in productive partnership
with our management teams and
the people working in Bridgepoint
companies, we start 2016 excited
by the opportunities presented by
the times and well positioned for
the future.
33
Investment and sector expertise
Our aim is to invest in high-performing,
well-managed businesses that have the
potential to grow through expansion,
operational transformation or via
acquisition.
We focus on six core sectors: Business
Services, Consumer, Financial Services,
Healthcare, Manufacturing & Industrials
and Media & Technology. Each sector
team is organised on a pan-European
basis, with teams working closely together
across offices to build knowledge and
ensure proper understanding of the space
as well as to identify new and add-on
investments.
By exploiting this wealth of local
knowledge and sector expertise in
Europe, we are also able to identify and
acquire businesses where significant value
can be created under our ownership and
where in turn businesses can exploit
our reach and know-how to enhance
their operational performance, growth
prospects and market position.
Investment preferences
We are attracted by opportunities in sectors and
niches with strong underlying growth, typically
ahead of the broader economy, segments where
Europe has global competitive advantage or in
businesses with high visibility of earnings and
contracted income.
We are especially known for helping to create
value through market consolidation – by identifying
and arranging funding for add-on acquisitions by
the platform businesses owned by Bridgepoint
funds – or securing operational improvement to
drive earnings growth. In 2015 Bridgepoint
portfolio businesses made 42 add-on acquisitions.
Our investment teams are able to call upon
expertise from a range of specialists whose skills
include operational expertise, debt finance
structuring and procurement. In addition,
Bridgepoint has a portfolio development office
in Shanghai which accelerates the development
of portfolio companies in China across areas such
as market entry, procurement, establishing
facilities, add-on acquisitions and joint ventures
with local partners.
34
35
27
%
Business Services
25
%
Consumer
7
%
Financial Services
17
%
Healthcare
9
%
Manufacturing
& Industrials
15
%
Media &
Technology
sector expertise: business services
sector expertise: business services
Business Services
Business services, by its nature, is a wide-ranging sector covering everything
from professional services to asset rental with much in between. Within
this space, our focus is quite specific: we seek out businesses with a clear
USP, either in the form of distinctive expertise or proprietary technology
that would be hard for a competitor to replicate. It’s often a sector where
high quality managers can be found who can bring impact quickly on the
performance of a business.
36
27 %
of our portfolio is
currently invested in
this sector
Emma Watford
Head of Business Services sector
As with all our other sector specialisms, our interest in this area comes primarily
from its potential for growth. The importance of business services reflects the
tendency for successful businesses to focus on their core activity, effectively
asking themselves, “Which non-essential parts of our operation could
another company do cheaper, faster or better than we can?”
The result is the emergence of a group of specialist service
companies whose offer goes far beyond simple activities like
cleaning or catering. So, for example, in the pensions sector
a service company could take care of skilled but non-core
activity like loss adjustment.
When selecting candidate companies for potential
investment, we look for high-quality businesses with
a clearly differentiated position and significant potential
for value creation. We are particularly interested
in opportunities for market consolidation
(typically through a process of buy and
build), businesses servicing high-growth
end user segments, businesses with a
high proportion of recurring revenues
(often in the form of ongoing
contracts rather than one-off
fees) and businesses where
technology plays a role in creating
competitive advantage.
Another important part of a business’s
appeal is global potential and the ability
to serve an international client base. Here
Bridgepoint can use its network to help
businesses to diversify their geographic
presence, enabling them to deploy their
specialist expertise to serve customers in a
greater range of territories.
As with any sector, predicting precisely
where growth will occur can be challenging.
Nevertheless we believe key opportunities for
growth include technology and IP enablement,
businesses with exposure to emerging markets
(where growth can create a skills gap and the
business services industry can be less developed)
and services to businesses that maximise the
potential of scarce resources.
We categorise our sweet spots for investment
into two discrete subsectors: professional services,
and asset and facility services.
Within professional services, we focus on
outsourcing and consulting (particularly techenablement and building ‘sticky’ relationships
in order to retain revenue), education and
training, and testing, inspection and certification.
All three are typically high margin, high expertise
businesses.
Within asset and facility services, we focus on
property services, energy and industrial services
and transport services, where good management
and strong market positions typically can make a
decisive difference.
Our relative focus within these sub-sectors
flexes to take account of prevailing trends.
Beyond these areas we are also interested in
opportunities that overlap other Bridgepoint
investment areas such as media and technology,
healthcare and financial services.
Putting all of this together gives us clear
parameters within which to appraise opportunities,
taking into account prevailing economic conditions,
and the likelihood of future growth prospects. The
result enables us to see beyond the short term and
take a longer-term, more effective view.
€1.7bn
Invested in 15 companies in the
European Business Services
sector in the last 10 years
37
investments in the business services sector
Anaveo is a provider of electronic security solutions such as video
surveillance, security access control and intrusion detection to
small and medium sized businesses. It has a network of 11 agencies
and 270 employees across France and in 2011 opened a subsidiary
in China to set up a direct sourcing strategy and establish a
commercial presence there.
Date acquired
This investment is managed by Bridgepoint Development Capital.
Original deal size
2015
Employees
270
Not disclosed
Revenue
€43.7m
A-Katsastus is the leading vehicle inspection company in Northern
Europe with 273 stations in Finland, Sweden, Poland, Estonia and
Latvia. Its services include compulsory vehicle inspections, drivers’
examinations and vehicle insurance and registration services.
Date acquired
In 2015, the group continued its network expansion in Sweden and
focused on developing new complementary business areas in Finland.
1,160
2006
Employees
Transaction size
Not disclosed
38
Revenue
€111m
Beck & Pollitzer is a leading engineering services business
specialising in the installation/relocation of industrial plant/
machinery and associated services.
Date acquired
The company has a blue chip client base across a wide range
of sectors including automotive, canning, pharmaceutical and
aerospace and, is growing on the back of strong end markets and
an increasing propensity for customers to outsource these services,
providing an opportunity for Beck & Pollitzer to expand both
geographically and across new sectors and services.
Employees
Revenue
2007
700
Transaction size
£55m
£72m
Location
France
Directors
Grégory Louis
Fabrice Tisseur
Bridgepoint
representatives
Bertrand Demesse
Olivier Nemsguern
Website
www.anaveo.com
Cambridge Education Group (CEG) is one of the largest international
schools groups in Europe, providing pre-university education to more
than 3,500 students in the UK originating from 80 countries.
Date acquired
CEG operates four divisions in three countries: ‘CATS’ a Junior
and Senior High School network with campuses in Cambridge,
Canterbury, London, and Boston in the US; ‘Foundation Campus’
programmes through partnerships with 20 universities in the UK,
US and the Netherlands; the College of Visual & Performing Arts in
Cambridge; and English as Foreign Language (EFL) schools in the UK
and US, operating under the ‘Stafford House’ brand.
Employees
1,053
Transaction size
£185m
Revenue
£110m
Directors
Fergus Brownlee
Hetal Shah
Sir John Sunderland
Bridgepoint
representatives
Chris Bell
Chris Busby
Website
www.cambridge
educationgroup.com
Location
Finland
Directors
Kari Kivikoski
Ilkka Rantasalo
Terhi Vähähyyppä
Bridgepoint
representatives
Michael Davy
Patrick Fox
Mika Herold
39
Website
www.a-katsastus.com
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Andrew Hodgson
Janusz Lach
Charles Matthews
Romain Provoust
Fraser Ruciman
Bridgepoint
representatives
Stephen Bonnard
Mark Stroud
Website
www.beck-pollitzer.com
2013
Location
United Kingdom
CTL Logistics is Poland’s largest private rail logistics company, and,
one of the leading private rail operators in Europe with operations
across Poland and the neighbouring countries. It provides tailormade logistics solutions focusing on rail transportation, freight
forwarding, siding management and waste management for a wide
range of sectors from coal and coke, fuels and oil, to agricultural and
consumer industries. It operates in some of the largest markets in
Europe, including the strategically important East-West rail corridor.
Date acquired
2008
Employees
1,643
Transaction size
Not disclosed
Revenue
€162m
Location
Poland
Directors
Jacek Bieczek
Mariola Hola-Chwastek
Michał Jóźwiak
Jaroslaw Krol
Foncia is the market leader in residential property management
services in France, Belgium and Switzerland with additional
operations in Germany.
Date acquired
It manages apartment buildings on behalf of all residents collectively
and provides a lettings management service to owners of individual
apartments. It also provides ancillary services including valuations
and insurance/energy broking and real estate transaction services.
Employees
Bridgepoint
representatives
Khai Tan
Maciej Zuzałek
2011
7,700
Transaction size
Not disclosed
Revenue
€695m
Website
www.ctl.pl
Location
France
Directors
Benoît Fournial
Marc Frappier
Bruno Keller
Anne Lalou
Jacques Lenormand
Wilfried Piskula
Bridgepoint
representatives
Benoît Bassi
Website
www.foncia.fr
Element Materials Technology is a global leader in materials and
product qualification testing for the aerospace, oil & gas and
transportation markets.
Date acquired
Acquired in 2015 it has it has 53 laboratories in Europe, the US and
China, over 1,800 employees and 10,000 customers worldwide.
Employees
2016
1,800
Transaction size
Not disclosed
40
Revenue
$291m
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Charles Noall
Jo Wetz
Bridgepoint
representatives
Chris Busby
Raoul Hughes
Website
www.element.com
Inspired Thinking Group (ITG) is a technology-led marketing
services business which serves the growing trend of decoupling
the ‘creative’ from the ‘execution’ phase in marketing services
and outsourcing the latter.
Date acquired
In 2015 it won contracts with brands such as Cath Kidston and
Bourne Leisure and deepened existing relationships with notable
clients such as M&S and Sainsbury’s. It further developed its inhouse digital offering (ITG 360), and grew its presence in the USA,
winning a large contract with Claire’s in the territory
350
Revenue
2014
Employees
Transaction size
£28m
£68m
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Mark Lovett
Stevie Spring
Simon Ward
Bridgepoint
representative
Adrian Willetts
Website
www.inspiredthinking
group.com
41
KGH is the leading independent customs services provider in Europe
with operations in 11 countries and over 14,000 customers.
In 2015, KGH won several important contracts with multinational
clients on a pan-European basis, where the Company provides strong
differentiation versus local competition. The company also continued
to invest to build the next generation’s software platform, which is
now being piloted and will be launched commercially in 2016.
Date acquired
2013
Employees
700
Transaction size
Not disclosed
Revenue
SEK 581m
Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) serves Yorkshire & Humberside, a
region of 5.3 million inhabitants.
Since Bridgepoint’s acquisition LBA has consistently been one of
the fastest growing airports in the UK. Following an £11m terminal
upgrade in 2012, LBA has introduced a range of new routes and
airlines including British Airways, Monarch and Thomson.
Date acquired
2007
Employees
200
Transaction size
£145m
42
Revenue
£28.4m
LOC Group is an international provider of marine and engineering
assurance services to the offshore oil & gas and shipping markets.
It is a leading provider of marine warranty surveys required for
the transport and installation of offshore capital equipment, and
the market leader in marine casualty consultancy for shipping
insurers in high-profile incident and dispute cases.
Date acquired
Established in 1979, it operates from over 30 offices located
around the globe and employs 400 staff including master
mariners, naval architects, and marine and structural engineers.
Transaction size
Revenue
2013
Employees
400
Not disclosed
£65m
Location
Sweden
Directors
Vidar Gundersen
Michael Olsson
Magnus Sjöqvist
Bridgepoint
representatives
Johan Dahlfors
Johan Gustafsson
TüvTurk is the monopoly provider of statutory vehicle inspections
operating 208 stations across Turkey. The company has a 20 year
monopoly concession until 2027 and has franchised its operations
in 81 regions to 48 franchisees.
Date acquired
TüvTurk has received approval from the Ministry of Transport for
the online sale of mandatory vehicle insurance (‘MVI’), commencing
in 2016 which will add significant value add to the business.
871
Employees
Transaction size
TRY347m
Revenue
TRY120m
Website
www.kghcustoms.com
Directors
Husnu Akhan
Matthias Rapp
Klemens Schmiederer
Erman Yerdelen
Bridgepoint
representatives
Martin Dunn
Patrick Fox
Website
www.tuvturk.com.tr
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Paul French
Tony Hallwood
John Parkin
Simon Whitby
Bridgepoint
representatives
Michael Davy
Patrick Fox
43
Website
www.leedsbradford
airport.co.uk
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
David Ballands
Robin Bidwell
Nadim Butt
Edward Guest
Andrew Squire
Bridgepoint
representatives
Mayank Kanga
Kevin Reynolds
Website
www.loc-group.com Bridgepoint Annual Review 2015
2009
Location
Turkey
sector expertise: consumer
sector expertise: consumer
Consumer
Defining what we mean by ‘Consumer’ is somewhat easier than for some
other sectors as everyone has an intuitive idea of what it entails, reflecting
the size and importance of the sector and the fact that consumer spending
remains one of the main drivers of the European economy. It is also important
in private equity investment terms, accounting for c.25% of all private equity
transactions in Europe.
44
We segment consumer into four primary subsectors where our knowledge and
experience can make a decisive difference: retail, leisure, FMCG and consumer
services. We look for companies with clear opportunities for growth, strong brand
equity, scope for brand innovation and a firm commitment to service culture.
A well-defined CSR programme is also increasingly important, particularly amongst
younger consumers. Finally, we seek out companies with the scope for business
model improvement, where Bridgepoint in particular can add value. The more of
these characteristics a prospective investment has, the more attractive it becomes.
If those are the characteristics we look for in potential investment
opportunities, where do we think growth will occur in the consumer sector?
The answer can be found in our approach to this sector: instead of analysing
the space by the specific area of consumer activity (e.g. speciality retail or
cinemas), we prefer to identify
promising growth areas by theme
or driver. This has the flexibility
to accommodate advanced
business models that do not fit
into standard categories.
The key drivers we look for
include demographics (for
example any opportunity that
taps into population changes
and trends), value versus luxury
(particularly relevant in the retail
subsector), and experiential (for
example occasions or experiences
that offer consumers something
special). Equally important are
the themes of self-improvement (for
example health, wellness or educationrelated) and consumer service (typically in terms
25%
of our portfolio is
this sector
Jason McGibbon
Head of Consumer sector
of convenience or efficiency).
Identifying promising growth areas by
theme or driver contrasts with the more usual
sub-segment approach that lacks the flexibility
to accommodate outlier or challenger brands.
Concentrating on deeper dynamics like this
enables us to look closer and see further to identify
the most promising opportunities in the consumer
space and the qualities of each opportunity that
will deliver significant growth.
Equally important when evaluating an
opportunity is recognising the importance to
consumers of local knowledge. In some areas the
UK or France will have evolved in slightly different
but important ways compared to Turkey or Poland
– and vice versa. Having a pan-European team and
significant consumer input from our Shanghai
team helps us appreciate the distinctions and
needs of different markets.
We have been investing in consumer
businesses for over 30 years, with high-profile
transactions like Pets at Home, Alain Afflelou,
Nordic Cinema Group and Pret A Manger that
resonate with consumers and of course other
management teams. Our deep track record helps
us better understand new opportunities and
underpins our thematic approach to identifying
opportunities for growth. Since it was established,
Bridgepoint has invested €3.6bn in over 100
consumer businesses – a long association that
enables us to look beyond the cyclical nature of
the sector and take a longer, more informed view.
€1.9bn
Invested in 14 companies
in Consumer sector in the
last 10 years
45
investments in the consumer sector
Azzurri is a leading Italian-themed casual dining group in the UK,
operating 250 restaurants under two well-established casual dining
brands, ASK Italian and Zizzi, as well as Coco di Mama, a fast-growing
Italian-themed quick service food and coffee concept. ASK Italian and
Zizzi focus on authentic Italian cuisine with differentiated menu styles
and both brands have a long-standing reputation for quality and value
for money.
Date acquired
In 2015 Azzurri continued to grow its footprint with new restaurant
openings across both ASK Italian and Zizzi brands and the acquisition
of Coco di Mama, a London-based quick-service food brand, serving
all-day Italian cuisine, with an expertise in pasta and coffee.
£250m
Casino France Operations (CFO) (formerly a sister company of the JOA
Groupe) is an independent player in the French gaming sector that
operates two casinos under a franchise agreement with JOA Groupe.
Following the restructuring of JOA acquired in 2005, Bridgepoint and
Loto Quebec retained full control and ownership of CFO.
CFO’s first permanent casino began operations at the beginning of
December 2014, with a second one, in a temporary site in 2015. The
permanent location was opened at the beginning of January 2016.
46
2015
Employees
5,700
Transaction size
Revenue
£218m
Date acquired
2005
Revenue
Website
www.joa-casino.com
Date acquired
Established in 1993, the company operates from three sites across
Poland where it employs over 1,000 people. It has transformed
itself from a local single-channel producer into a multi-channel
operation with increasing CEE and international presence.
Employees
2013
1,032
Transaction size
Not disclosed
Revenue
€86m
2007
Employees
2,730
£360m
Revenue
£205m
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Will Crumbie
Simon Greene
Simon Pickering
Stuart Rose
Mark Seagar
Anthony Thompson
Bridgepoint
representatives
Benoît Alteirac
Guy Weldon
Website
www.fatface.com
Location
France
Bridgepoint
representative
Benoît Bassi
Not disclosed
Date acquired
Transaction size
Website
www.askitalian.co.uk
www.zizzi.co.uk
www.cocodimama.co.uk
Transaction size
158
Fat Face is a UK retailer of modern, casual clothes with an ‘outdoor
lifestyle’ theme, operating a multi-channel model of over 200
directly owned stores with a rapidly growing e-commerce business
and an active wholesale operation. A total of 90 stores have been
added under Bridgepoint’s ownership.
Bridgepoint
representatives
Michael Black
Jason McGibbon
Directors
Claude Poisson
Alain de Pouzihac
Dr Gerard is one of the largest producers of branded and cobranded label biscuits in Poland, selling leading brands and highquality products through all retail distribution channels.
Directors
Steve Holmes
Jim Pickworth
Kieran Pitcher
Harvey Smyth
Employees
€10m
In 2015, Dr Gerard continued to build its geographical footprint by
expanding into Romania with another two subsidiaries opening
at the beginning of 2016 in Hungary and the Czech Republic. The
recent acquisition of Artur, the Polish biscuit producer, has also
further strengthened its position in the marketplace.
Location
United Kingdom
47
Location
Poland
Directors
Jerzy Glinka
Jarosław Zawadzki
Bridgepoint
representatives
Jason McGibbon
Khai Tan
Maciej Zużałek
Website
www.drgerard.eu
Histoire d’Or (part of Group Thom) is the largest jewellery retailer in
France. It was acquired simultaneously with the market No. 2, Marc
Orian, and both were merged securing significant synergies.
Date acquired
The majority of the Marc Orian estate was converted to the
Histoire d’Or format. Today the combined group operates over 580
stores under three banners (Histoire d’Or, Marc Orian and Trésor)
including a small and expanding network in Belgium and Italy.
Employees
In 2015, Histoire d’Or continued to expand its network by opening
33 stores.
Le premier bijoutier de France
2010
2,640
Transaction size
€599m
Revenue
€378m
Location
France
Directors
Loïc Armand
Eric Belmonte
Bruno Candelier
Jordi Constans
Jacques Pancrazi
Thomas Simon
Maurice Tchenio
The Nordic Cinema Group (‘NCG’) is the leading cinema operator in
the Nordic region with 70 cinemas, 472 screens and a 44% share of
total Nordic box office revenues. NCG’s cinemas are well-invested,
modern and comfortable with the latest technology. Sites are
typically focused around large and mid-sized cities, located in
shopping malls, transport hubs or cultural centres. With over 23m
admissions per annum NCG has c.10m individual customers visiting
its sites across the region each year, equating to almost 30% of the
total population.
Date acquired
2010
Employees
1,980
Transaction size
Not disclosed
48
Revenue
£151m
Date acquired
2006
Employees
1,516
Transaction size
Not disclosed
Revenue
€222m
1,500
Transaction size
SEK 4.7bn
Location
Sweden
Directors
Anders Ehrling
Erik Haegerstrand
Torsten Larsson
Simon Wright
Bridgepoint
representatives
Christopher Bley
Mika Herold
Mikael Lövgren
Website
www.nordiccinema
group.com
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Lawrence Christensen
Dominic Jordan
Catriona Marshall
Matthew Moore
Archie Norman
Katherine Paterson
Katharine Poulter
49
Bridgepoint
representatives
Emma Watford
Guy Weldon
Location
Italy
Directors
Enrico Ceccato
Maurizio De Costanzo
Paolo Frigati
Marco Giorgetta
Fabio Pampani
Roberto Pisa
Bridgepoint
representatives
Benoît Bassi
Raoul Hughes
Website
www.limoni.com
Employees
SEK 2.9bn
Website
www.hobbycraft.co.uk
Limoni is the market leader in the Italian perfumery retail sector
with a network of c.400 stores. It also provides a wholesale
service to smaller independent Italian perfumeries.
2015
Revenue
Bridgepoint
representatives
Benoît Bassi
Website
www.histoiredor.com
Hobbycraft is the leading arts, crafts and hobbies specialist retailer
in the UK with 83 superstores. Under Bridgepoint ownership and with
a new management team in place, it has undergone an extensive
operational improvement programme to support growth within the
existing estate, further store roll-out and multi-channel development.
The business has recently launched a new, smaller store format.
Date acquired
Pret A Manger is the UK’s leading retailer of high-quality natural,
ready to eat sandwiches, salads and drinks. Founded in 1986, it has
over 390 shops in the UK, US, Hong Kong, France and China and
employs over 10,000 people. In 2015, Pret’s new franchise model
saw the opening of two shops in France located at the Paris Gare
du Nord and Nice Airport.
Date acquired
2008
Employees
10,235
Transaction size
£364m
Revenue
£671m
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Sinclair Beecham
Laurence Billett
Nick Candler
Anders Dahlvig
Clive Schlee
Bridgepoint
representatives
Vince Gwilliam
William Jackson
Rodenstock is a leading manufacturer of both optical lenses and
eyewear, the only company worldwide able to offer both products. It
is the No 3 and No 4 respectively in Europe and the world within the
optical lenses market, enjoying strong brand recognition and a high
reputation for technology leadership in its field among opticians.
In 2015, Rodenstock continued to drive top and bottom line growth
as a result of increasing business with independent opticians and
optical chains in its core European markets. It also strengthened its
eyewear business by launching two new licence brands (Bogner
and Jil Sander) and made significant investments in launching new
products in its lens portfolio.
Date acquired
2007
Employees
4,300
Transaction size
Not disclosed
Revenue
€417m
Website
www.pret.com
50
Location
Germany
Directors
Oliver Kastalio
Michael Kleer
Peter Körfer-Schün
Sven Schirmer
Robert Schlitt
Bridgepoint
representatives
Christoph Braks
Ian Dugan
Website
www.rodenstock.com
The Dining Club Group is the UK’s largest discount diners’ club
with over four million members. It works with some of the
country’s most popular restaurant chains, as well as over 6,000
independent restaurants. It operates two branded membership
cards, tastecard and the Gourmet Society, and sells memberships
through three channels: direct to consumers, to consumers via
company employee benefit schemes, and to corporates who offer
their customers memberships as part of a bundled offering, such
as a premium bank account.
Date acquired
Revenue
2015
Employees
102
Transaction size
Not disclosed
£17.5m
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Annette Court
Dave Cuckney
Ben Eaton
Sam Shaw
Matt Turner
Bridgepoint
representatives
Matt Legg
Alan Payne
Kevin Reynolds
Website
www.tastecard.co.uk
www.gourmetsociety.co.uk
Wiggle is the leading global online retailer of cycling and tri sports
equipment. The company has an attractive and loyal customer base
of 1.5 million active consumers and it receives 150,000 orders every
week via its 13 primary domains. The business delivers to over 70
countries worldwide with 50% of its sales being outside the UK.
In 2015 the company consolidated and relocated its distribution
facilities to a purpose-built 300k sqft site close to key
communications routes in Wolverhampton. Having established
market leadership in the UK the business is acting to replicate its
success in other attractive markets, particularly Europe.
Date acquired
2011
Employees
478
Transaction size
£180m
Revenue
£193m
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Stefan Barden
Giles David
Brian McBride
Bridgepoint
representatives
Patrick Fox
Nick Heslop
Xavier Robert
Website
www.wiggle.co.uk
51
sector expertise: financial services
sector expertise: financial services
Financial Services
The financial services sector is broad and in order to make the most of the
opportunities it offers, we focus on a number of significant subsectors.
These include: insurance (particularly underwriting, broking and associated
services), asset and wealth management (both institutional and retail),
specialty finance and fintech, all within a European context. Financial
institutions themselves, such as retail or commercial banks, are not our
prime area of focus.
52
7%
of our portfolio is
this sector
The financial services sector is of course an integral part of Europe’s economic and
social fabric. Successful service providers must therefore take account of emerging
‘megatrends’ and tailor their services accordingly. For example, access to the web
means individuals are increasingly well informed and expect high levels of services,
populations across Europe are aging (directly influencing retirement savings
planning and pension provision), while a range of new technologies are rapidly
changing the way people interact with financial service providers.
At Bridgepoint we understand these trends, enabling us
to take full advantage of the opportunities they
offer. Our size and experience means we can bring
considerable resources to bear, not just in
terms of capital and people but also in
terms of vision and understanding.
As to the specific
characteristics we look for in
investment opportunities,
an innovative approach to
technology is always highly
attractive. This influences
everything from distribution and
how a financial product is brought
to market, to increasing customer
satisfaction and stealing a march over
competitors.
We also look for companies with
experienced, motivated staff. Many
service businesses are essentially people
businesses, so the quality of their people
is paramount. In a competitive market,
innovative approaches to finding, retaining and
William Paul
Head of Financial Services sector
incentivising key individuals become increasingly
important. We work well with business owners,
management teams and importantly, with
regulatory bodies worldwide.
Looking ahead, we expect to see regulation to
be an ever more important driver of opportunity.
Increasing regulatory and compliance standards
worldwide will drive many industries towards
consolidation and polarisation to smaller numbers
of world-leading players.
We also expect to see technology continue to
drive growth, from improving internal efficiency
for financial institutions to increasing choice
and service levels for consumers. The result will
increase competitiveness and create the right
conditions for success.
On the service side we expect to see growth
coming from increased use of outsourcing and
business process re-engineering designed to
improve efficiency and profitability.
On the product side, insurance continues to
be of real interest to us. We also expect initiatives
that reflect the megatrends described above to
do well. Above all we will continue to look for
investment opportunities where we can help a
company become market leader, putting them in
turn on the radar for future acquisition.
In terms of our track record, by focusing on
a handful of high-growth areas we have achieved
realised returns in excess of three times and
what we have learned is enabling us to pinpoint
repeatable business models, creating the conditions
for continued future success.
€500m
Invested in four companies in
the European Financial Services
53
investments in the financial services sector
investments in the financial services sector
1st Credit is a UK debt purchasing agency that acquires debt
portfolios from banks, utility suppliers and telecoms companies.
Having raised £120m in 2013, it was able to acquire £31m of debt
portfolios and in 2014 secure an additional £40m of purchases.
Date acquired
In 2015, the company has continued to broaden its debt purchasing
customer base whilst ensuring it remains focused on the tight
compliance regulations within its sector base.
174
2004
Employees
Transaction size
£67m
Revenue
£33m
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Simon Dighton
Charles Holland
Bruce McLaren
Eddie Nott
Leith Robertson
Bridgepoint
representatives
Patrick Fox
Stephen Green
Moneycorp is a UK headquartered specialist foreign exchange
business with operations in the UK, Ireland, France, Spain and the US.
It operates three main businesses – International Payments,
Retail and Wholesale.
Date acquired
International Payments serves small and medium-sized businesses
and individuals looking to make international foreign exchange
transfers while the business’ Retail division operates from bureaux de
change and ATMs at Gatwick, Stansted, three other UK airports and
central London locations. The Wholesale division supplies banknotes
to banks and financial institutions worldwide.
752
54
Date acquired
AFB has three key business lines administering over 10,000
structures for almost 6,000 clients: Corporate Administration
which provides incorporation and domiciliation services, Trust
Administration which establishes trust structures and then provides
day-to-day administration services, and Fund Services, which assists
in the launch, incorporation and administration of funds.
Transaction size
2015
Employees
350
Not disclosed
Revenue
$84.6m
Employees
Transaction size
£212m
Revenue
£130m
Website
www.1stcredit.com
Appleby Fiduciary & Administration (‘AFB’) provides Trust &
Corporate Services to a wide range of clients in nine jurisdictions
around the world. Clients range from large global corporations
from all sectors, to high net worth individuals, families and fund
managers, including private equity, hedge funds, real estate and
other alternative fund structures.
2014
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Colin Buchan
Nick Haslehurst
Mark Horgan
Paul Lever
Bridgepoint
representatives
Stephen Green
Rob Moores
Website
www.moneycorp.com
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Farah Ballands
Scott Carter
Roger Siddle
Bridgepoint
representatives
William Paul
Emma Watford
55
Website
www.applebyglobal.com
s e c t o r e x p e r t i s e : h e a lt h c ar e
s e c t o r e x p e r t i s e : h e a lt h c ar e
Healthcare
Health is a huge market where Bridgepoint focuses on two areas
particularly suited to middle market private equity investment –
regulated healthcare and social care.
56
Our interest in this sector is underpinned by a compelling combination of micro and
macro growth drivers and the opportunities they present for middle market businesses.
At a macro level, ageing populations are driving demand, as is the rise of consumerism
in the sector, typically characterised by a growing ‘market’ mentality amongst patients
taking a proactive approach to their personal healthcare.
Innovation too in healthcare is also driving interesting opportunities for investment.
At the micro level, increasing demand for high quality but cost effective care
within healthcare systems that are largely publicly funded is creating attractive
opportunities for businesses who able to offer outsourced or private pay services.
And this in turn is leading to the emergence of branded consumer-focused healthcare
businesses seeking to differentiate their offer in the market.
Within this broad market Bridgepoint focuses on three specific areas – services,
pharma and medtech. These offer a number of highly attractive niches where leading
businesses have achieved attractive growth rates.
In the services space, pressure on the delivery of national economic
targets is creating more and more outsourcing opportunities as
providers look for ever greater efficiency in a fragmented
and highly regulated market. Consolidation and
its attendant benefits of improved operating
efficiency and enhanced clinical
quality through shared best
practice, is also important
here. Consolidation, for
example, has underpinned
the developments in the
pharmacy and care home
sectors for over 20 years; we
believe there are still attractive,
unconsolidated areas of the
healthcare market across Europe that
would benefit from the same approach.
In the pharma subsector we are
seeing a fundamental transformation of
large pharmaceutical businesses, with the
outsourcing of manufacturing, clinical
€1.4bn
17%
of our portfolio is
this sector
Jamie Wyatt
Head of Healthcare sector
research and many other functions in order to
increase efficiency and cost base flexibility. This too
presents opportunities for a middle market private
equity investor like Bridgepoint. With certain
markets worth $20 billion annually, the opportunity
associated with outsourcing alone is therefore
highly attractive. Similarly, the opportunity to help
a business with proven pharmaceutical products
take their domestic offer to an international market
plays to our core strengths.
In the third of our specialist areas –
medtech – innovation is rapidly changing the way
procedures are conducted. One of the most exciting
developments in this area is the use of robotic
equipment in surgical procedures, typically in
the form of enabling remote surgical input from a
consultant or minimising invasive surgery.
We are focused on finding opportunities in
attractive long-term growth market niches where
we can help support businesses to accelerate their
growth. That might be through investment in
new facilities, taking a new product going into an
untapped market, or offering currently constrained
European Healthcare sector in
the last 10 years
services which people are willing to pay to access.
This is certainly reflected in our experience in
private pay nursing homes and private dentistry.
Overarching our three areas of interest in
the sector is quality. Given the highly regulated
nature of the market and the obvious importance
nationally and individually of healthcare, quality is
fundamental. And almost as important is the ability
to articulate a particular offer in an attractive,
appropriate way and explain why a user should
buy a particular product or service. Solutions take
many forms, but already we are starting to see the
arrival in the healthcare sector of quality reviews
that introduce a patient-driven scoring system for
healthcare providers.
Bridgepoint has completed over 55
investments in the healthcare space, achieving
strong returns for our investors. As a result, it has
a substantial track record of building efficient,
effective and quality-driven businesses, reflecting
both the importance of healthcare as a sector and
its attractiveness as an investment opportunity.
57
i n v e s t m e n t s i n t h e h e a lt h c ar e s e c t o r
Balt is a leading French medtech business in the fast-growing
neurovascular market.
Founded in 1977, it specialises in the design, manufacture and
distribution of neurovascular devices and products that treat
complex, life-threatening conditions of the brain, specifically
strokes, aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).
The company employs 90 people at its facilities in Montmorency
(France) and Gland (Switzerland).
Balt serves French hospitals directly and has an international
network of over 100 distributors worldwide.
Date acquired
2015
Employees
90
Transaction size
Not disclosed
Revenue
€40m
Location
France
Directors
Hervé Novelli
Nicolas Plowiecki
Marina Plowiecki
Stéphane Regnault
Oern Stuge
Date acquired
Compagnie Stéphanoise de Santé is the principal independent
operator of clinics in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. It was
founded in 2005 through the combination of three clinics and
the subsequent addition of further facilities in the Rhône-Alpes,
Aquitaine and Auvergne regions. It now operates from eight
sites, mainly polyclinics that offer a broad range of specialist
medicine and surgery.
Employees
Not disclosed
Bridgepoint
representatives
2011
1,300
Transaction size
Revenue
€120m
Website
www.balt.fr
Care UK is the leading private provider of health and social care
services to the public and private sectors. It provides residential
social care and primary/secondary healthcare services. Since
investment, Care UK has increased the number of care homes from
59 to 113 and nearly doubled the number of residents to c.6,000.
Date acquired
2010
Employees
14,500
Transaction size
£414m
58
Revenue
£687m
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Mike Parish
Phil Whitecross
Bridgepoint
representatives
Raoul Hughes
Rob Moores
Directors
Bruno Limonne
Jean Rigondet
Jean François Sautereau
Bridgepoint
representatives
Bertrand Demesse
Aymeric Marraud
des Grottes
Olivier Nemsguern
Website
www.groupec2s.fr
Diaverum is the third largest corporate provider of dialysis
treatment in the world and the second largest independent
dialysis service provider in Europe. It treats 27,600 patients,
through 329 clinics, located in 19 countries across Europe, South
America, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.
In 2015, Diaverum continued to build its geographical footprint
by expanding into Kazakhstan, establishing an office in China,
and strengthening its position in Romania through a strategic
add-on acquisition.
Date acquired
2007
Employees
7,611
Transaction size
Not disclosed
Revenue
Website
www.careuk.com
€583m
Médipôle Partenaires (created by the merger of Médipôle with MédiPartenaires in June 2014) is the second largest independent private
hospital group in France. The group operates 38 clinics and 6,600
beds in France’s most demographically attractive regions and covers
the patient’s full ‘care pathway’ including high-margin pre and postoperative care.
Date acquired
2011
Employees
8,500
Transaction size
Not disclosed
Revenue
€865m
Location
France
Location
Sweden
Directors
Dag Andersson
Björn Brixer
Annette Kumlien
Alan Milburn
Bridgepoint
representatives
Martin Dunn
Héctor Pérez
Website
www.diaverum.com
Location
France
Directors
Benoît Fournial
Marcel Hermann
Bridgepoint
representatives
Benoît Bassi
William Paul
Fabrice Turcq
Website
www.medi-partenaires.com
59
Oasis is the leading branded provider of public and private dentistry
in the UK and Ireland. Acquired in 2013 with c.200 practices, the
business has grown through acquisition to over 350 practices.
In 2014 the company completed the £30m acquisition of Smiles,
a chain of 77 largely private-pay focused practices.
In 2015 Oasis added 34 new practices in the UK, as well as three
greenfield sites.
Date acquired
2013
Employees
3,500
Transaction size
£183m
Revenue
£275m
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Justin Ash
Bill Colvin
Jordi Gonzalez
David Leatherbarrow
Julian Perry
Stuart Rose
Bridgepoint
representatives
Patrick Fox
Jamie Wyatt
Phlexglobal is a specialist provider of technology-enabled document
management solutions and other support services to the global
pharmaceutical market. It is a recognised leader in technologyled solutions for the management of Trial Master Files (TMF), a key
component of clinical trials.
It specialises in software and services used by global pharmaceutical,
biotech sponsors and clinical research organisations to manage their
TMFs clinical trial records.
Date acquired
Locations
United Kingdom/
United States
Employees
Directors
Stella Donoghue
Steve Kent
Peter McNaney
Rick Riegel
Karen Roy
2014
219
Transaction size
£42m
Revenue
£20.1m
Website
www.oasisdentalcare.com
Bridgepoint
representatives
Matt Legg
Kevin Reynolds
Website
www.phlexglobal.com
60
61
s e c t o r e x p e r t i s e : M a n u fa c t u r i n g & I n d u s t r i a l s
s e c t o r e x p e r t i s e : M a n u fa c t u r i n g & I n d u s t r i a l s
Manufacturing
& Industrials
Manufacturing & Industrials is one of Bridgepoint’s most international
areas of interest, touching many different geographies and including many
different technologies. Our interest in this sector reflects its importance to
everyday life: the sector is ultimately responsible for creating the products
and associated services that make the world work. As a sector it may not
always be high profile, but it is unquestionably of high importance.
9%
of our portfolio is
this sector
Chris Bell
Head of Manufacturing & Industrials sector
62
Its significance reflects a number of contemporary global ‘megatrends’. For
example, emerging market growth, increasing urbanisation and the importance
of aerospace and transport are all global issues that directly impact the sector.
Take one example: in China alone, 50 new airports are being built to accommodate
anticipated increases in domestic and international air travel.
Similarly, the global middle classes are growing at 18% annually, with a
corresponding increase in demand for products and services originating in the
manufacturing and industrial sector. Increased
global energy demand will make the need
for energy efficient products more
important than ever, while robot
usage is increasing at between 5%
and 8% annually, with key areas
like automotive robotics growing
at over 10%. Understanding and
exploiting these megatrends is
at the heart of our approach to
investment in this sector.
Interestingly, the sheer
importance of Manufacturing
& Industrials makes it a
particularly robust sector, with
many companies able to take
market cycles in their stride.
The type of companies we are
interested in tend to have welldeveloped, well tested business models.
Another reason for our interest is the scale of
opportunity. In Europe there are over 2,500
manufacturing and industrial companies in our
size range, a rich seam we are able to work through
to identify promising investment opportunities.
In addition, Europe enjoys market leadership in
the form of unique manufacturing companies that
produce niche products with ready demand around
the world.
Against this background Bridgepoint focuses
on four key segments within the sector that
we believe will experience significant growth,
reflecting the global megatrends mentioned above:
industrial products, aerospace, energy and power
and chemicals, with secondary interest in building
products and automotive.
We look in particular for international
companies with real points of differentiation, high
recurring income and strong pricing power. As a
result, almost all the companies in this sector we
have acquired in recent years have demonstrated
strong earnings margins. We are also attracted to
new products and technologies with a clear reason
to exist, as well as hybrid product/service offerings
where a product is recontextualised as a service.
Bridgepoint has been investing in industrial
and manufacturing businesses for 30 years and
has built up a wealth of knowledge and experience
that we continue to put to good use today. We have
a longstanding track record in this space and have
invested €2 billion of equity in 25 companies
and achieved strong returns. In the last eight
years we have acquired six businesses, making
Bridgepoint one of the most active PE funds in
Europe in this sector.
€1bn
Invested in seven companies
in the European Manufacturing &
Industrials sector in the last 10 years
63
i n v e s t m e n t s i n t h e M a n u fa c t u r i n g & I n d u s t r i a l s s e c t o r
i n v e s t m e n t s i n t h e M a n u fa c t u r i n g & I n d u s t r i a l s s e c t o r
AHT Cooling Systems is the leading manufacturer of commercial
‘plug-in’ refrigeration equipment for some of the largest and fastest
growing food retailers and food/beverage producers in the world.
Date acquired
In 2015, the company, which is known for its lower cost, energy
efficiency, flexibility and speed of delivery, continued in rolling out
its new product range – plug-in wall-mounted cabinets – across
Europe. It also made significant investments in new product
development that will strengthen its reputation as an innovation
leader for plug-in commercial refrigeration cabinets. AHT
continued to build its geographical footprint by opening offices
in the Nordics and Russia and identified interesting overseas
growth opportunities.
Employees
Director
Hans Aage Joergensen
Transaction size
Bridgepoint
representatives
Michael Davy
Marc Zügel
Revenue
Website
www.aht.at/en
2013
1,250
Not disclosed
€365m
Location
Austria
DMC Power sells permanent couplings and associated tooling to the
North American electricity transmission and distribution industry for
use primarily in high voltage electricity sub-stations. Its technology
is unique in its industry and is successfully displacing welded and
bolted connection techniques, which it materially outperforms.
In 2015 the company was granted patents for its new transmission
live and grounding connectors.
DMC Power was part of another Bridgepoint investment,
Permaswage, the market leader in the manufacture of permanent
and separable couplings for aerospace companies, before the latter
was sold to PCC, with Bridgepoint retaining its stake in DMC Power.
Date acquired
2007
Employees
Directors
Eben Kane
Tony Ward
Transaction size
Bridgepoint
representative
Michael Davy
Revenue
Website
www.dmcpower.com
125
Not disclosed
$24.7m
The Flexitallic Group is the market leader in customised highperformance mission-critical sealing solutions and products to the
global oil, gas and power generation industries.
Date acquired
Headquartered in France, the company has eight production sites in
the US, Canada, UK, France, Middle East and China, with almost threequarters of its revenues sourced from North America. It serves a longstanding client base of over 900 clients thanks to a technical sales
force who set industry-leading standards of service and reliability.
Employees
64
2013
1,000
Transaction size
€450m
Revenue
$200m
Location
United States
Location
France / Global
Directors
Gerry Maters
Jon Stokes
Bridgepoint
representatives
Michael Davy
Ian Dugan
Website
www.flexitallicgroup.com
65
sector expertise: Media & Technology
sector expertise: Media & Technology
Media & Technology
In the past the distinction between media and technology was obvious;
today that boundary is increasingly blurred as media resources and channels
migrate online – to the extent that it is sometimes hard to say whether a
particular product or service belongs under one heading or the other.
In short, the old divide between TV, radio, cinema and sports on the one
hand, and software and the internet on the other is largely irrelevant.
66
Our interest in this fast-moving sector reflects the fact that the world is increasingly
online. Platforms and marketplaces are rapidly digitising, while the impending
‘internet of things’ promises to open up a whole new world of opportunity.
This dynamic has another important implication: technology businesses have
a global market from day one, and global means increased potential for growth
in the form of access to lucrative US and Asian markets. As a growth investor,
technology is therefore an obvious area of interest for Bridgepoint.
It’s equally important that technology touches and influences all
our areas of interest. In many cases it makes more sense
to think of technology as a horizontal, cross-sector
function rather than a discrete vertical like
Consumer or Healthcare. Technology’s
all-pervasiveness means it is essential
we understand precisely how it can
enhance how we work, knowledge
we can then use to inform our
investment decision-making.
In terms of actual investments,
the media & technology companies
we are interested in all share
certain characteristics. Clearly
there has to be a market for
whatever they are selling.
We also look for companies with
the right team and resources
in place to implement their
strategy. In a sector where hype
can sometimes outstrip performance,
their ability to actually deliver is crucial.
At the same time we look for companies
whose products have the widest possible market,
15%
of our portfolio is
this sector
Xavier Robert
Head of Media & Technology sector
in the sense that they are not closely tied to the
laws or practices of a particular country. The more
globally relevant a product or service is, the better.
Another important characteristic we look
for is a business model based on subscription
rather than advertising. Subscription churn rates
tend to be low, so income streams are steady and
predictable. Relying on advertising alone is far
more challenging and unpredictable.
Companies that meet these criteria can
deliver impressive results, often, as is the case with
successful software businesses, achieving high
double-digit profit on sales. Their products tend
also to be “sticky”, in the sense that changing to
a competitor’s offering involves major upheaval,
encouraging companies to stick with what they have.
Looking ahead, we foresee opportunity
driven by one of the key characteristics of
this sector: the sheer pace of change. In many
subsectors business models are far from
established, so we closely monitor the latest
developments in order to identify interesting
opportunities the moment they emerge.
It is an approach that has worked,
enabling us to use our knowledge and
experience to profitable use. By shifting our
focus from traditional media to the world of
technology, we have created the right conditions
for the companies we back to succeed long into
the future.
€1.5bn
European Media & Technology
67
investments in the Media & Technology sector
BigHand is the largest provider of productivity-enhancing software
for busy time-focused professionals in the legal, healthcare and
professional services markets.
Date acquired
It currently supports over 250,000 professionals globally across 1,950
customer organisations with offices in London, Chicago, Sydney,
Toronto and Eindhoven. The company recently launched BigHand
V5, an upgrade and expansion of its software product suite. This new
innovation means BigHand is now able to offer a range of products
across ‘speech, delegation’, ‘process’ and ‘improvement’ themes to
their growing and international customer base.
Employees
£25m
Dorna SBK is an international sports management business that holds
the exclusive global rights to organise the FIM Road Racing World
Championship (MotoGP) until 2041, and, the FIM World Superbike
Championship (SBK) until 2036. The company generates its revenues
from race circuit fees, TV broadcast contracts, sponsorship and
advertising as well as corporate hospitality services.
2012
146
Transaction size
£48m
Revenue
Date acquired
2013
Employees
316
Transaction size
Not disclosed
68
Revenue
€309m
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Jon Ardron
Ian Churchill
Graham Gilbert
Sam Toulson
Bridgepoint
representatives
Alan Payne
Mark Stroud
eFront is the leading software provider of financial solutions
for managing alternative investments. It provides end-to-end
solutions dedicated to the financial services industry, specialising
in enterprise risk management and alternative investments.
Date acquired
Its solutions serve more than 800 customers and over 100,000
users in 48 countries serviced by 21 offices worldwide,
including many of the largest blue chip private equity investors
and managers worldwide, typically those with private equity
investments greater than $1bn.
633
2015 saw eFront attain a double digit growth rate, adding more
than 100 new clients in the year.
Website
www.bighand.com
2015
Location
France
Employees
Director
Olivier Dellenbach
Transaction size
Bridgepoint
representatives
Martin Dunn
David Nicault
Xavier Robert
€300m
Revenue
$102.7m
Website
www.efront.com
Location
Spain
Directors
Enrique Aldama
Carmelo Ezpeleta
Bridgepoint
representatives
William Jackson
José Maria Maldonado
William Paul
69
Website
www.dorna.com
In December 2013, Groupe Moniteur merged with Infopro, creating
the number one professional information group in France. The group
provides quality and value added content for various sectors such as
automotive, construction and local authorities. Today it is one of the
most advanced information groups following its migration from print
to digital media.
Date acquired
In 2015, Infopro completed the acquisition of EBP Group, a provider
of trade publications and data to the construction industry
headquartered in Belgium. This will enable the group to expand its
international footprint and offers significant cost savings.
Transaction size
Directors
Henry Capelle
Christophe Czajka
Thomas de Villeneuve
Eddie Misrahi
Revenue
Bridgepoint
representative
Benoit Bassi
2006
Employees
2,400
Not disclosed
€291m
70
Location
France
Website
www.infopro-digital.com
Date acquired
Its principal activities are in the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium
where it has market-leading positions, providing content and
e-learning materials for primary schools, secondary schools and
further education colleges. Products span interactive software,
online learning, e-books, audio books and textbooks. It also has an
active product development programme to meet the needs of new
and developing curricula.
Employees
Directors
Clive Hay-Smith
Natascha van Nieuwenburg
Transaction size
Bridgepoint
representative
Daniel Wagener
Revenue
Website
www.infinitaslearning.com
625
€774m
€217m
MVF is a technology-enabled provider of international online
lead generation services to a variety of industry sectors including
various B2B markets, market research, relocations, education,
clean tech and healthcare.
Date acquired
It specialises in online customer acquisition and lead generation
using proprietary technology, data-driven analytics and in-house
digital marketing expertise to provide some of the world’s leading
brands with high volumes of potential new customers that
generate a strong return on investment.
310
Revenue
2015
Employees
Transaction size
Not disclosed
£36m
Date acquired
During 2015, Trustly has continued to broaden its network of
integrated merchants and banks and has expanded its geographical
coverage with 21 new European markets, for a total of 29 countries.
Revenue
The investment is managed by Bridgepoint Development Capital.
Employees
88
Transaction size
Not disclosed
SEK 193m
Directors
Andreas Bernstrom
Lukas Gratte
Carl Wilsson
Bridgepoint
representatives
Johan Dahlfors
Magnus Gottås
Website
www.trustly.com
71
Location
United Kingdom
Directors
Jules Hopkinson
Tom Morgan
Peter Rigby
Titus Sharpe
Michael Teixeira
Bridgepoint
representatives
Michael Black
Robin Lawson
Website
www.mvfglobal.com
2014
Location
Sweden
Location
The Netherlands
Infinitas Learning is one of Europe’s leading educational content
companies, providing a range of innovative and engaging products
and services for teaching and learning.
2007
Trustly was founded in 2008 and provides a proprietary online
banking e-payment solution which is designed to make online
payments more convenient, faster, simpler and safer. It currently
handles around 1.5m payments per month with the business
targeting online merchants who value safety, high sales conversion,
consumer convenience and those who are at the forefront of
adopting new technology. The company is focused on merchants
with large volumes of pay-ins/pay-outs who value real-time
processing and account reconciliation functionality.
C u rr e n t i n v e s t m e n t s
C u rr e n t i n v e s t m e n t s
Current investments
Portfolio company
Date acquired
Original deal size
Revenue
Fund
Fat FaceConsumer
2007
£360m
£205m
BE III
Flexitallic Manufacturing & Industrials
2013
€450m
$200m
BE IV
Foncia Business Services
2011Not disclosed
€695m
BE IV
€378m
BE IV
Portfolio company
Sector
Date acquired
Original deal size
Revenue
Fund
Histoire d’Or Consumer
2010
1st Credit
Financial Services
2004
£67m
£33m
BE II
HobbycraftConsumer
2010Not disclosed
£151m BE IV
AHT Cooling Systems
Manufacturing & Industrials
2013Not disclosed €365m
BE IV
Infinitas Learning Media & Technology 2007
€217m
BE III
A-Katsastus Group Business Services
2006Not disclosed
€111m
BE II
Infopro
Media & Technology
2006Not disclosed
€291m
BE III
Anaveo*
Business Services
2015Not disclosed
€43.7m
BDC II
Inspired Thinking Group*
Business Services
2014
£68m
BDC II
Appleby Fidicury Services
Financial Services
2015Not disclosed $84.6m
BE V
KGH Customs Services*
Business Services
2013Not disclosedSEK 581m BDC I/II
2015
£218m
BE V
Leeds Bradford Airport
Business Services
2007
£28.4m
BE III
2006Not disclosed
€222m BE III
AzzurriConsumer
72
Sector
£250m
€599m
€774m
£28m
£145m
Balt
Healthcare
2015Not disclosed
€40m
BE V
LimoniConsumer
Beck & Pollitzer*
Business Services
2007
£55m £72m
BDC I
LOC Group*
Business Services
2013Not disclosed
£65m
BDC II
BigHand*
Media & Technology
2012
£48m
£25m
BDC I/II
Médipôle Partenaires
Healthcare
2011Not disclosed
€865m
BE IV
Cambridge Education Group
Business Services
2013
£185m
£110m
BE IV
Moneycorp
Financial Services
2014
£130m
BE IV
Care UK
Healthcare
2010
£414m
£687m
BE IV
MVF*
Media & Technology
2015Not disclosed
£36m
BDC II
2015SEK 4.7bnSEK 2.9m
BE V
Healthcare
2013
£183m
£275m
BE IV
Healthcare
2014
£42m
£20.1m
BDC II
BE III
Pret A Manger Consumer
2008
£364m
£671m
BE III
$24.7m
BE III
Rodenstock Consumer
2007Not disclosed
€417m
BE III
2013Not disclosed
€309m
BE IV
The Dining Club Group*Consumer
2015Not disclosed
£17.5m
BDC II
2013Not disclosed
€86m
BE IV
Trustly*
Media & Technology
2014Not disclosedSEK 193m
BDC II
$102.7m
BE IV
TüvTurk Business Services
2009TRY347mTRY120m
BE IV
$291m
BE V
WiggleConsumer
2011
BE IV
Casino France Operations Consumer
2005Not disclosed
€10m
BE II
Nordic Cinema GroupConsumer
Compagnie Stéphanoise de Santé (C2S)
Healthcare
2011Not disclosed
€120m
BC I
Oasis Dental
CTL Logistics
Business Services
2008Not disclosed
€162m
BE III
Phlexglobal*
Diaverum
Healthcare
2007Not disclosed
€583m
DMC Power
Manufacturing & Industrials
2007Not disclosed Dorna SBK
Media & Technology
Dr GerardConsumer
£212m
eFront
Media & Technology
2015
€300m
Element Materials Technology
Business Services
2015Not disclosed
* Denotes a Bridgepoint Development Capital investment
* Denotes a Bridgepoint Development Capital investment
£180m
£193m
73
I n v e s t i n g r e s p o n s i b ly
Social
factors
Environmental
factors
Energy use, waste and
recycling, water use and
conservation, and supply
chain environmental
management.
Through our board
representatives, we work
with management teams
of investee companies to
implement appropriate
social policies in their
operations and procedures.
Governance
factors
Companies in which
Bridgepoint invests
have similar governance
structures in place to
ensure compliance with
the law and effective
monitoring of their
performance.
Investing responsibly
We’ve built responsible investing
principles into our work and business
practices, recognising that being a
responsible investor is quite simply
good for our business. That is why we
have put in place strong environmental,
social and governance principles.
This approach is overseen by our Audit
& Risk Committee, comprising senior
members of the team and led by the
chairman of our Advisory Board.
As a signatory of the United
Nations’ Principles for Responsible
Investment we also publicly undertake
to demonstrate our commitment to
embed relevant environmental, social
and governance (‘ESG’) criteria into
our decision-making and ownership
practices and in that of the management
teams of the companies our funds own.
74
75
“We build responsible
investment principles
into all of our work and
business practices.”
UNPRI
Bridgepoint
Charitable Trust
Bridgepoint is a signatory
of the United Nations
Principles for Responsible
Investment.
Daniel Wagener
Director, Bridgepoint
Bridgepoint has a charitable
foundation formed and funded
by the Firm and its employees
that focuses on charitable
activities in the broad
areas of education and the
environment within Europe.
After we make an investment
VE
ME
NT
N
ES
GA
ST
VE
T
RC
O
MM
UNI
S
3. P O
N
TI
E
TY
IR
NV
ON
ME
SO
CI
G
E
AL
E
OV
RN
AN
C
ES
Social factors
Governance factors
We charge our portfolio
management teams to instigate
a range of initiatives that
typically seek to improve energy
and water use, waste recycling
and more ethical supply chain
management. This also means
expecting suppliers to be
able to demonstrate material
compliance with relevant local,
national and international
environmental laws.
Through our board
representatives, we work with
management teams of investee
companies to implement
appropriate social policies in
their operations and procedures.
These focus on employee
health and safety, labour
rights and welfare. Minimally,
we expect suppliers to be
able to demonstrate material
compliance with local, national
and international labour laws
including those relating to
health and safety.
Companies in which Bridgepoint
invests have similar governance
structures in place to ensure
compliance with the law
and effective monitoring
of their performance. They
are also structured so that
major decisions by a portfolio
company can only be reached
with the agreement of
Bridgepoint.
ES
E IN
ITTE
TEE
1. PR
MM
ITI
TIC
MIT
UN
T
CO
RT
AC
OM
M
E
PO
PR
EN
YC
ES
E
SK
G
EN
OP
ST
EM
ES
ENT
TH
RI
IN
OR
W
AG
DE
IT
V
TM
NV
EI
IN
AR
BE
OA
UD
ISK
NV
Bridgepoint
investment
lifecycle
4. R
ING
BR
AN
AD
,A
OR
2. I
NT
NT
DR
ME
ME
ION
IS
ST
EST
R AT
AN
AL
YS
IS
UNE
Environmental factors
Maciej Chrystowski
Investment Director, Paris
PL
Gwenaëlle Le Ho Daguzan
Director, Paris
INV
SH
76
REM
EX
Once a company becomes
part of our portfolio, we
work with management
teams to implement
appropriate environmental
and social policies in their
operations and procedures
that are relevant to their
sector and in accordance
with industry standards.
We encourage
investee companies to
work with like-minded
trading partners to assess
the material environmental
and social risks of
their operations and to
work towards relevant
international good practice
standards to mitigate future
risks with targets and
timelines for improvement.
EST
compliance with statutory
or regulatory requirements,
Bridgepoint agrees plans with
management for remedying this
within an appropriate time period.
We also expect each portfolio
company to assess the material
environmental risks of their
operations and to work towards
relevant international good practice
standards to mitigate environmental
risks with targets and timelines
for improvement. This is normally
included within our 100-day plan
when we acquire a business.
INV
For new investments, Bridgepoint
identifies material environmental
and social risks and opportunities
as part of its investment selection
process. We do so by requiring that
pre-investment proposals include
an analysis of ESG issues that are
brought to the attention of our
Investment Advisory Committee.
Portfolio companies must
comply with relevant environmental
and employment laws, particularly
in relation to employees’ health
and safety, rights and welfare.
If a company is only in partial
E
ESG in practice
Before we make an investment...
AL
NT
77
Integrating responsible and sustainable
investing into our portfolio
Case study
Case study
Pret A Manger
Alongside its own dedicated higher welfare chicken flocks, in 2015
Pret A Manger made further progress in welfare standards in duck,
lobster (US), laying chickens (US) and pork. Compassion in World
Farming awarded the company in the USA the good (whole egg)
award. The Pret Coffee Fund, now in its second year, is supporting
81 young farmers in one of its main Peruvian coffee cooperatives
through a coffee growing training programme that also encourages
and develops entrepreneurial diversification. Seed funding was also
provided for an organic fertiliser development programme.
78
Oasis
Case study
Tastecard
Over the last four years
Tastecard has been a
sponsor of Mary’s Meals,
an international effort
focused on breaking the
poverty cycle by bringing
food and education to the
world’s poorest communities.
In 2015 Mary’s Meals
provided a daily meal in a
place of education to over 1m
children across the world.
Tastecard, through the
support of colleagues and
card members, raised over
£230,000 for Mary’s Meals to
establish five school feeding
programmes across Malawi,
providing food to thousands
of children every day.
Oasis Dental Care is the leading provider of
private dentistry in the UK and Ireland. 70% of its
practices now offer a programme of outreach and
oral health education to their local communities.
All precious metals (from extractions and
treatments) are responsibly recovered. 50% of
recovery funds are used for other ESG activities
including nurse volunteers for their charity
partner, Bridge2Aid, training rural health workers
in emergency dental care in Tanzania.
Case study
Fat Face
In 2015, Fat Face developed its sustainability
strategy to reflect key sustainability trends in
the retail and garment sectors. With five key
pillars, it covers all aspects of the business, with a
greater investment in responsible sourcing. This
included a supplier development and capacity
building programme aimed at improving social
and environmental performance of Fat Face’s
Chinese suppliers. The company’s commitment
to sustainability also led to an increase in activity
by the Fat Face Foundation – most notably
the unique and innovative ‘Thanks for Giving’
campaign, which replaced the traditional Black
Friday mass discounting of other retailers and
resulted in £295,419 being raised for charity
in 2015/16.
79
Bridgepoint is led by an experienced team
of partners and is managed by a Board
drawn from the Partnership
Ben Martin
Legal Counsel, London
The group board, Bridgepoint
Advisers Group, has executive
responsibility for setting the
Firm’s strategy and ensuring
that the shared values and
business objectives we have
set ourselves are upheld and
met. Its members include:
80
John Barber
Benoit Bassi
Michael Black
Chris Busby
Raoul Hughes
William Jackson
José María Maldonado
Guy Weldon
A list of partners and other
colleagues is profiled in full
on the Bridgepoint website
(www.bridgepoint.eu)
The Firm supports
and endorses the
recommendations of the
Walker Guidelines for greater
disclosure and transparency
in private equity.
Bridgepoint has a number of governance structures to ensure that
it remains accountable and transparent, and that there is complete
alignment of interest between the Firm and its investors.
Operating Committees for each of our two areas of activity,
Bridgepoint Europe and Bridgepoint Development Capital, are
charged with our day-to-day operations in these areas.
Investment decisions are reached through an Investment
Advisory Committee comprising members of the group board as
well as other partners with specific sector or operating expertise.
Remuneration, Audit and Risk Committees ensure the proper
and fair allocation of the laws and regulatory practices.
European Advisory Board
The Firm also benefits from the input of a European Advisory Board.
It works to provide insight, knowledge and experience to allow
Bridgepoint team members to make better informed decisions about
investments and development as a firm.
It comprises figures from different aspects of corporate and
political life who are able to provide us with external perspectives
on strategic, political, social and other matters to supplement the
expertise of the Bridgepoint team.
81
Risk Management
A partner-level General Counsel is responsible for ensuring that
the Firm respects and adheres to internal policies and operating
procedures. Internal guidelines are also in place to eliminate
conflicts of interest, taking into account the Firm’s obligations under
its fund management agreements and fiduciary duties. In addressing
conflicts, it seeks to do so with integrity, professionalism and in the
best interest of its investors.
Each Bridgepoint fund also has an Investors’ Committee drawn
from representatives of investors in that fund to provide a forum for
discussion of the fund’s investment strategy or performance and any
potential or actual conflicts of interest.
Aenilce
Bridgepoint Charitable Trust
Our work in the broader community
82
Bridgepoint has a charitable foundation
formed and funded by the Firm and its
employees that focuses on charitable
activities in the broad areas of education
and the environment within Europe.
The Bridgepoint Charitable Trust
(‘BCT’), with 10 trustees (including
three independent trustees), aims to
provide support to adopted charities
in the countries where we operate as
well as tactical support to the charitable
activities of individual team members.
Candidate charities are suggested by
local offices for the trustees to consider,
from which a shortlist is drawn up and
then voted on by team members across
the Firm.
2015
Spain
BCT also matches the charitable fund
raising efforts of individual staff members
and supports the charities sponsored by
colleagues or companies having a close
relationship with the Firm.
In 2015 we donated over £350,000
to charities, including the six adopted
by Bridgepoint offices – Fryshuset in
Stockholm, Un Orchestre a l’École in
France, Teens and Toddlers in the UK,
Gut Hausen in Germany. These were
joined in 2015 by two new charities:
AENILCE in Spain and Fundacja Dzieci
Niczyje, or the Nobody’s Children
Foundation, in Poland. To date, BCT has
made over £1.6 million in donations to
charitable endeavour across Europe.
Fundacja Dzieci Niczyje
New
charity
Aenilce is a Spanish charity that operates a day-care centre
for children and teenagers with severe brain disabilities,
providing specialist treatment including physiotherapy,
speech therapy and psychology.
BCT is supporting the charity as it expands its activities
into a larger building which requires renovation work to
triple its capacity to 60 children. The investment includes
the renovation of various rooms in the building, adapting the
rooms to the special requirements of children, and buying
new equipment. Construction work on the new centre
started in October 2015 and the Foundation is confident that
the building will be fully operational by June 2016 when it can
start welcoming children.
Our team in Madrid will also support the project in
different ways including helping with financial analysis,
negotiations with banks, extending their relationship as the
new building takes shape.
2015
Poland
www.fundacionaenilce.org
83
New
charity
Fundacja Dzieci Niczyje, or the Nobody’s Children Foundation, is a
non-governmental, not-for-profit charity which was established in
1991 within the Polish activities of Médecins du Monde. Originally
devised to address ‘social orphanhood’ (hence its name), it has
developed over the years to protecting children from abuse by
offering help to victims, families and care workers through targeted
education and social care programmes.
Thanks to BCT support, the Foundation will be able to launch a
new support service within its ‘Good Parent – Good Start’ programme
which will focus on good parenting skills by helping counteract the
effects of postnatal depression and by strengthening family ties
through working with all the family members.
Website
Website
www.fdn.pl
Gut Hausen
Teens and Toddlers
Gut Hausen is a small charity founded in 2008 to promote
environmental conservation and education, particularly through
its work with kindergarten and primary schools. BCT funding is
being used to build a new kindergarten outdoor area within a
2.5 hectare site within central Frankfurt.
In 2015 we funded the purchase of equipment for the first
natural kindergarten in Frankfurt. This has allowed children to
explore the site with a mixture of excursions, project work and
free play where they are introduced to traditional culture and
handicraft techniques such as working and playing with wood,
felting and papermaking as well as preparing and cooking the
on-site produce such as fruit and vegetables.
Teens and Toddlers is a UK charity that seeks to inspire
young people to achieve the self-belief, skills and
qualifications they need to succeed in education, at work
and in life. They achieve this by placing teenagers in
nurseries for three hours per week where they mentor a
toddler as well as receive life skills coaching. In our final
year of support, BCT funded 13 Tomorrow’s Leaders
programmes in existing and new boroughs in London,
reaching over 100 teenagers.
Germany
United Kingdom
Website
www.lebenshilfe-ffm.de/de/
GutHausen/GutHausen.php
Website
www.teensandtoddlers.org
Fryshuset
84
85
Sweden
Website
Fryshuset is a Swedish charity, identified by
our colleagues in Stockholm, which supports
some 14,000 young people in Stockholm,
Gothenburg and Malmö around three
inter-related platforms of education, social
projects and leisure interests. In our final
phase of support for the project, we have
been able to help it host for a third successful
year a ‘youth entrepreneurship’ project –
Camp Connect, a four-day summer camp
outside Stockholm for young adults. This is
a forum to educate young adults to become
tomorrow’s leaders with lectures and creative
workshops with focus on entrepreneurship.
Un Orchestre à l’École
France
www.fryshuset.se
Website
www.orchestre-ecole.com
In France we renewed our support for Un Orchestre à
l’École (‘OAE’), a non-profit organisation that transforms
an entire class in a primary or junior secondary school
into an orchestra. OAE, registered by the French Ministry
of Education, works in schools across France with
underprivileged pupils. Under the scheme, pupils are
entrusted with a high-quality instrument and that they are
responsible for keeping in good condition that they learn to
play individually and as part of a team. In 2015 BCT funded
the set-up of eight orchestras in schools throughout France.
O u r o ff i c e s
o u r o ff i c e s
Our offices
86
Frankfurt
Istanbul
London
Neue Mainzer Straße 28
60311 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 69 210 877 0
Frankfurt@bridgepoint.eu
Vişnezade Mahallesi
Suleyman Seba Caddesi
BJK Plaza no:48
A blok 9.kat D:93-94
Akaretler/Istanbul
Turkey
Tel: +90 212 310 8252
Istanbul@bridgepoint.eu
95 Wigmore Street
London W1U 1FB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7034 3500
London@bridgepoint.eu
Luxembourg
Madrid
2, avenue Charles de Gaulle
L-1653
Luxembourg
Tel: +352 26 47 56
Luxembourg@bridgepoint.eu
Louis Paul-Dauphin
Associate, Bridgepoint
Development Capital, Paris
Paris
C/. Rafael Calvo 39A-4º
28010 Madrid
Spain
Tel: +34 91 702 24 90
Madrid@bridgepoint.eu
82 rue de Courcelles
75008 Paris
France
Tel: +33 (0) 1 70 22 53 00
Paris@bridgepoint.eu
Shanghai
Stockholm
Warsaw
21F Unit 2110-2111
Shanghai One ICC
999 Huaihai Road (Middle)
200031 Shanghai
China
Tel: +86 21 6193 7688
Shanghai@bridgepoint.eu
Mäster Samuelsgatan 1
111 44 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0) 8 545 168 20
Stockholm@bridgepoint.eu
ul. Rondo ONZ 1
00-124 Warszawa
Poland
Tel: +48 022 417 17 17
Warsaw@bridgepoint.eu
87
Bridgepoint Advisers Limited, a subsidiary
of Bridgepoint Advisers Group Limited,
is authorised and regulated by the Financial
Conduct Authority
www.bridgepoint.eu
88

2015 Bridgepoint Annual Review

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