Over the course of 18 months, we plan to invest around €750m of equity. The companies in which we invest will be principally quoted on European equity markets and will share the following characteristics:

• Small and mid-cap companies, typically with an enterprise value in the range €100m to €2bn.
• High potential to achieve significant growth, we aim to align our interest closely with the management of our portfolio companies through creating a shared business plan with defined actions to build value and accelerate the company’s earnings growth.
• Opportunity for us to acquire a significant shareholding, either by buying a stake from an existing investor who wants to sell or by providing new capital to a company contemplating making an acquisition.  Selectively, we will be willing to make general offers for the companies in which we invest, but with the expressed intention of retaining the company’s quoted status and leaving a meaningful free float.

With a mix of equity and debt we will invest, on average, around €100m in each business and expect, over time, to create a portfolio of 8-12 companies.