We don’t care whether you’re a market leader or not. We invest in companies with a unique mindset, ready to challenge the status quo, in sectors such as healthcare, business services and manufacturing.
M80 is an investor in companies in Benelux and France. We seek out ambitious companies that embrace change and we work with them to create and realise their potential.
Our diverse international team of entrepreneurs, former CEO’s, private equity professionals and digital pioneers will inspire, challenge and support companies to generate meaningful value for their customers, employees, owners and investors.
Investment
criteria
Across Benelux and France we typically focus on companies that have sales between €25m and €300m, EBITDA between €5m and €30m and an enterprise value between €25m and €250m. Our preferred investment range is 10 – 60 million in equity. We are open to transactions where we can be a significant shareholder or the leading investor, aligning closely with founders or family shareholders and management. We steer away from real estate, R&D based life sciences, pre-commercial technology and companies that do not fit with our values and those of our investors.
The M80 team
We are a balanced mix of successful senior managers and deeply experienced private equity and M&A professionals. Most of us are also entrepreneurs, having started and built companies. We embrace digitization – we have used it to transform companies and to improve our own daily lives.
Peter Maenhout
Partner/CEO
Pieter Vermeersch
Partner
Jehanne de Walque
Partner/CFO
Carl Annicq
PartnerX
Email Peter Maenhout
Resumé
Peter is founder and CEO of M80. He was a managing director at Gimv, where he was responsible for Gimv-XL, a €609m closed-end fund aimed at midsize companies in Flanders. Peter also led Gimv’s private equity activities in Belgium and its Consumer platform in Benefralux. Gimv-XL’s participations included investments in Vandemoortele, Greenyard, Punch Powertrain, Lampiris, Xeikon, Hansea and XL Video. Investments from Gimv’s Consumer platform included Melijoe, La Croissanterie, Joolz, United Dutch Breweries and Snack Connection. Peter has created value for his investors by growing companies rather than by financial wizardry. Throughout his career he has advised families and companies on managing growth and organizing succession.
Selected past and current board engagements
Vandemoortele, Greenyard, United Dutch Breweries, Melijoe
Email Peter Maenhout- 09-17
- Gimv, managing partner
- 07-09
- Amber Capital, MD Amber Capital Benelux
- 97-07
- Petercam (Brussels, Amsterdam), MD and various other roles
- 91-97
- Generale Bank, corporate finance officer
- Edu
- International Relations (University of Ghent), Financial Management (Vlerick School), MBA (ChicagoBooth)
XEmail Pieter Vermeersch
Resumé
Pieter founded his first company in Belgium, a specialist in over-the-counter health care products, while he was still studying. After five years at McKinsey & Company, Pieter moved to New York in 2007 where he created and led the team that developed and rolled out the global franchise network of Le Pain Quotidien. He set up the Pain Quotidien’s global marketing team and ran the company’s international brand and marketing strategy. In 2015 he became CEO of Le Pain Quotidien Belgium.
Selected Past and current Board engagements
La Croissanterie, Brouwland, Theuma, Le Pain Quotidien, Gerantis
Email Pieter Vermeersch- 17-18
- FNG Group, Group Director Sales and Business Development
- 15-16
- Le Pain Quotidien Belgium, CEO
- 07-15
- Le Pain Quotidien (New York), EVP
- 06-07
- Cabinet of the Prime Minister, advisor
- 02-06
- McKinsey & Co, engagement manager and other roles
- 00-20
- Founder of Aeon Quality Life
- Edu
- MA Applied Economics and MA International Relations (University of Leuven)
XEmail Jehanne de Walque
Resumé
Jehanne is CFO of M80. She was previously at Pacific Crest Group in San Francisco where she worked with Silicon Valley start-ups and scale-ups to develop their finance and accounting functions. As finance director for NewTree America, the Belgian high-end sustainable chocolate company, Jehanne helped launch and build the company in the US market. Jehanne has a deep experience in financial markets, having spent 15 years as an analyst at Puilaetco and Dexiam.
Selected past and current board engagements
Newtree
Email Jehanne de Walque- 13-18
- Pacific Crest Group (San Francisco), Director of Finance and Operations
- 11-13
- NewTree America (San Francisco), Director of Finance
- 04-10
- Dexiam, senior financial and SRI analyst
- 95-04
- Puilaetco, financial analyst
- Edu
- Business engineer (University of Louvain-la-Neuve), MA international management (CEMS), certified European financial analyst
XEmail Carl Annicq
Resumé
Carl has a track record of leading companies through significant digital transformation. He drives projects from conception to implementation, working hands-on with senior management and IT teams to embed systems such as CRM, ERP, predictive analytics, lean management and agile software development. Carl acted as CIO at Raet, the leading HR software company from the Netherlands, owned by CVC Capital Partners and later HG Capital, bringing operational efficiencies which translated into direct bottom line results. At Euroclear, he led a lean management transformation which is still considered a benchmark transformation in the European financial industry. Carl started his career at JP Morgan & Co on Wall Street and then remained in New York as a member of the management committee of Ubizen, the Belgian cybersecurity company. He is co-founder and co-owner of Nova Reperta, a 50-strong enterprise transformation consultancy, now part of Ardian portfolio.
Selected past and current board engagements
Theuma, Spantech, Lasea and Yuma.
Email Carl Annicq- 11-18
- Nova Reperta, partner and co-founder
- 14-17
- Raet Software, CIO
- 10-11
- LMS International, EVP M&A, finance, legal, IT
- 05-10
- Euroclear, director risk management & capital modelling, lean transformation, strategic IT programs
- 98-05
- Ubizen (New York), managing director
- 94-98
- JP Morgan & Co (New York), associate
- Edu
- MSc Electro-Mechanical Engineering (University of Leuven) and MBA (Vlerick)
Xavier Dura
Partner
Geert Vanderstappen
Partner
François Bouchat
Investment Manager
Bart Van Hoe
Investment ManagerXEmail Xavier Dura
Resumé
Xavier has been CEO of several lifestyle & FMCG companies in France. At Nocibé, where he led two consecutive management buy-outs with Bridgepoint and Charterhouse, he repositioned the brand of the cosmetics and perfumes retail chain and pioneered a multi-channel strategy – resulting in a French market share increase from 13,6% to 18,5%. After an early career in finance, Xavier moved into entrepreneurship as part of the core team that launched the Okaïdi children’s clothing retailer, and brought it to break-even within three years. Being a board member of Wolf Lingerie along with Gimv and Alsace Capital, Xavier became CEO in 2016 where he developed and drove a value-creation strategy based on a digital transformation and an overhaul of the business model.
Selected past and current board engagements
Made in Design, Wolf Lingerie, Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance, Hopps Group, Mecatechnics
Email Xavier Dura- 16-18
- Wolf Lingerie, CEO
- 15-18
- LAC International, senior advisor
- 14-14
- Mim (New Look Group), CEO
- 13-18
- MP Consulting, senior advisor and board member at several companies
- 98-12
- Nocibé, CEO
- 96-98
- Camaieu, CMO
- 93-96
- Okaïdi, CFO
- 88-92
- Arthur Andersen and PwC, auditor
- Edu
- ESCP Europe and DESCF
XEmail Geert Vanderstappen
Resumé
Geert is an experienced and respected private equity professional, with an excellent track record in the Belgian market. He started his career in investment banking at BNP Paribas Fortis (then: Generale Bank), as a colleague of Peter Maenhout and Francis Vanderhoydonck. Afterward, he co-founded Buyout Fund (BOF) with Francis. BOF was a closed-end fund focusing on SME buyouts in Belgium, vintage 1999. In 2006, Geert founded Pentahold, an evergreen structure for five families focusing on the same type of investments.
Selected past and current board engagements
Pizza Hut Belgium, Smartphoto group, Kinepolis, O! green, Optimum Sorting
Email Geert Vanderstappen- 06-
- Pentahold NV, Partner
- 99-16
- Buy Out Fund, Partner
- 93-99
- Spector Photo Group, General Manager Finance & Administration and Group IT
- 91-93
- Fortis, Corporate Officer
- Edu
- Business Administration (KU Leuven), MSc in Civil Engineer Electronics (KU Leuven)
XEmail François Bouchat
Resumé
François spent the first part of his career in the public sector where he was advising executives on diverse range of financial topics such as M&A, financing structuring, accounting, tax policy and investments. He focused on the energy sector where he managed major transactions. In 2017, he moved to Chicago (USA) to obtain his MBA from Kellogg School of Management – Northwestern University. In that context, he interned in the Investment Banking divisions of Credit Suisse (London) and Marathon Capital (Chicago).
Email François Bouchat- 17-19
- Kellogg School of Management
- 18-18
- Marathon Capital, Credit Suisse
- 12-17
- IGRETEC
- 11-11
- L’Oréal Business
- Edu
- MBA (Kellogg School of Management – Northwestern University), Bachelor and Master in Business Engineering (Solvay Brussels School of Management), CFA Charterholder (CFA institute), Master in Financial Risk Management (Université Saint-Louis)
XEmail Bart Van Hoe
Resumé
Bart started his career as a research assistant at Vlerick Business School, with research themes in finance and private equity. After spending two years in the TMT client coverage team at ING Corporate Clients, Bart joined the corporate loans team at PMV, the autonomous investment vehicle of the Flemish Region. As an investment manager, he worked on many corporate and acquisition debt transactions, as well as business development.
Email Bart Van Hoe- 14-22
- Investment manager at PMV
- 12-14
- Associate relationship manager at ING Belgium
- 09-12
- Research assistant at Vlerick Business School
- Edu
- Master in Accounting, Applied Economics (University of Ghent), Master in Financial Management (Vlerick Business School)
Thibaut Oosterlinck
Investment Manager
Ward Coolman
Associate
Paul-Elliott Testelin-Loosdregt
Associate
Maurice Welter
AnalystXEmail Thibaut Oosterlinck
Resumé
Before joining M80, Thibaut spent most of his career at the Investment Banking division of BNP Paribas, advising a wide variety of large-cap and mid-cap companies on Mergers & Acquisitions. Next to a generalist role at the BeLux team for about 6 years, Thibaut worked 2 years at BNP Paribas Paris, where he was respectively part of the Transportation Industry team and the M&A Execution Group.
Email Thibaut Oosterlinck- 19-22
- M&A and Investment Banking at BNP Paribas (Brussels), Vice-President and other roles
- 18-19
- Large-cap deal experience at the M&A Execution Group, BNP Paribas (Paris)
- 17-18
- Corporate Finance Advisory at the Transportation Industry team, BNP Paribas (Paris)
- 14-17
- M&A and Investment Banking at BNP Paribas (Brussels), Vice-President and other roles
- Edu
- Bachelor and Master in Business Engineering (Ghent University, 08-13), 1st Master year at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, USA (11-12), CFA Charterholder (CFA Institute)
XEmail Ward Coolman
Resumé
Ward started his career in Corporate Finance. He gained experience in M&A. Ward has mainly worked on valuation models.
Email Ward Coolman- Edu
- MSc in Business Engineering, University of Leuven
XEmail Paul-Elliott Testelin-Loosdregt
Resumé
Paul-Elliott gained his first experiences in Equity Research at Kepler Chevreux and in Investment Banking at Natixis.
Email Paul-Elliott Testelin-Loosdregt- Edu
- Financial Analysis, London Business School
XEmail Maurice Welter
Resumé
Maurice gained experience in Asset Management at Banque de Luxembourg Investments.
Email Maurice Welter- Edu
- MSc in Financial Management (Vlerick Business School), MSc in Investment & Risk Finance (Westminster University), Web Development (Le Wagon)
Yagmur Merve Tuzun
Analyst
Raphael Cwajgenbaum
Investor RelationsXEmail Yagmur Merve Tuzun
Resumé
Yagmur started her career in Equity Research at notable brokerage firms in Turkey and gained further experience in M&A at Rabobank.
Email Yagmur Merve Tuzun- Edu
- Vlerick Business School (Masters in Financial Management), Koç University (BA in International relations, Business Administration)
XEmail Raphael Cwajgenbaum
Resumé
Raphael Cwajgenbaum has spent over 12 years advising European mid-market private equity firms on matters relating to primary capital advisory, secondary advisory and co-investments. Prior to joining M80 Partners he served as Executive Director in the Moelis Private Funds Advisory team in London, having previously worked at Lazard’s Private Capital Advisory group. He is Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) certified.
Email Raphael Cwajgenbaum- 17-23
- Moelis Private Funds Advisory
- 11-17
- Lazard Private Capital Advisory Group
- 10-11
- Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking
- Edu
- Brandeis International Business School (M.A. in International Economics and Finance), Paris Dauphine University (B.S. in Applied Economics and Finance)
How we
work
We put our entrepreneurial, management, financial, private equity, change-management and digital skills to work in ambitious companies to:
- Bring focus to companies’ strategies
- Invest in companies’ sales organisations and top-line growth
- Deploy digital – from basic to sophisticated – to increase sales and improve efficiency
We do not stick our noses in every detail, but we play an active role if and when needed. We believe in having a clear common purpose. We motivate, inspire and help. We focus on the long term. We work based on mutual respect for our investors and for our portfolio companies. We listen, we evaluate the options, and we act upon what we hear and see. We believe in the positive power of private equity.
Portfolio
-
Acumen
Short description
Founded in 2010, Acumen Public Affairs provides tailor-made EU public affairs and strategic communications services to a wide range of multinational companies and trade associations.
The company is based in Brussels and has a team of over 70 consultants. Its main focus sectors are healthcare, mobility, agri-food, energy and technology.
Acumen has seen impressive growth over recent years and has been nominated on multiple occasions in the top-50 fastest growing companies in Brussels by Trends Gazelles.
M80 invested in Acumen in January 2024.
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SD Worx
Short description
SD Worx offers people solutions since 1945 and serves 5+ million people every day as provider of full-service payroll and HCM (Human Capital Management) services. SD Worx is headquartered in Antwerp with a presence in more than 25 countries across Europe, and counts +80k enterprise clients.
SD Worx was the first payroll provider in Belgium to embrace technology. Over the years, the company established a proven track record of solid growth (organic and inorganic) and since the onboarding of a new leadership team in 2020 rapidly expanded in Europe.
The group operates in two separate business units. SD Worx People Solutions encompasses all payroll and HR services solutions and represents the bulk of the total business. Staffing and Career Solutions comprises the interim staffing business of the group and operates mainly in the Benelux.
M80 invested in SD Worx alongside CVC through Brabo Investments (“Brabo”) in October 2023
-
Yuma
Short description
Yuma is an integrated IT services group consisting of top quartile complementary leaders. The following entities are part of the group:
Founded in 1963, Total Design is a leading and well-recognized Dutch digital design and branding agency. In its long history, it has
created landmark brands (HEMA, Thalys, HSBC…). Founded on strong customer relationships, its offering today includes front-end digital strategy, solution design (especially in UI/UX), (mobile) development & branding capabilities.M80 invested in Total Design in January 2023.
Founded in 2010, XPLUS provides expert advice in enterprise IT architecture – a crucial role to develop digital transformation blueprints. XPLUS differentiates itself through its thought leadership and extensive expertise in business and IT architecture, and its expanded offering which now includes programme and change management.
M80 invested in XPLUS in April 2022.
Luminis was founded in 2002 and offers customers high-quality solutions in the field of Cloud and Data. Luminis has partnerships with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft, among others. In addition, Luminis is the initiator and driving force of the IT training program Accelerate with Thales, Bosch and the Dutch Tax Authorities.
M80 invested in Luminis in August 2022.
www.luminis.eu
BPSOLUTIONS helps organisations to set up their Mission Critical IT in a way that makes the organisation smarter and therefore enables progress.
M80 invested in BPSOLUTIONS in December 2022.
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LASEA
Short description
With offices in Belgium, France, Switzerland, and the USA, LASEA develops and produces extremely precise laser micromachining machines and solutions for global industries. Its top clients across five continents are leading brands or disruptors in the luxury goods industry, the MedTech industry, Big Tech & electronics, and research institutes. With LASEA’s machines and solutions, clients can revolutionize their own production processes and offerings.
M80 invested in LASEA in March 2022.
-
Accès Vision
Short description
Accès Vision, created in 2018, is a leading French chain of ophthalmology centers, providing extensive diagnostic care, as well as simple laser surgery.
The group is recognized for its top-rated patient experience and high quality of care, thanks to its teams of ophthalmologists, orthoptists, and medical secretaries, as well as its state-of-the-art equipment. Rigorous compliance with sector deontology and standards is at the core of the Accès Vision project.
M80 invested in Accès Vision in December 2021.
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Gerantis
Short description
Gerantis is a professional property manager (“syndic”) of apartment buildings. Gerantis currently serves more than 1,000 associations of co-owners, which makes it a leader in the greater Antwerp region.
The core property management offering is supplemented with a range of ancillary services: Property management, Insurance, Stewardship and Real Estate Brokerage.M80 invested in Gerantis in July 2021.
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Le Pain Quotidien
Short description
Le Pain Quotidien is an iconic brand of Belgian origin, founded in 1990 by Alain Coumont. The company operates and franchises “local” neighbourhood bakery cafés. Le Pain Quotidien draws on its unique food philosophy and the values of simplicity, authenticity and conviviality to bring its guests together around a communal table, the centre piece of its restaurants. Le Pain Quotidien is a forerunner of current consumer trends (healthy, organic, locally sourced ingredients etc.). The assets acquired consist of the brand, the international master franchise business, Belgian, French and UK stores, and a production unit based in Belgium. In March 2021, we bought back the franchise of the Netherlands.
M80 invested in Le Pain Quotidien in July 2020.
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Spantech
Short description
Spantech is a leading manufacturer of technically and aesthetically advanced temporary and permanent tent structures for a wide range of industries across the globe. Spantech’s unique and patented technology enables the company to offer temporary structures with innovative, patented technical characteristics - including span widths of more than 100 meter and rigging loads up to 25 ton per beam. The company has production sites, sales offices and warehouses in Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and the Middle East.
In September 2020, Spantech has finalized a small, strategic acquisition, Viewbox.
M80 invested in Spantech in January 2020.
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Theuma
Short description
Theuma produces wooden indoor doors and wooden and steel frames, both standard sets and technical sets with fire-resistant, acoustic and anti-burglary qualities. Theuma is number 1 in Belgium and number 2 in the Netherlands and supplies builder’s merchants, wholesalers, constructors and door specialists. The company has production sites in Bekkevoort (Belgium) and Nijkerk (the Netherlands) and has about 250 collaborators.
In December 2020, Theuma acquired both ANYWAYdoors and Portapivot. ANYWAYdoors is a high-end, made-to-measure interior door specialist. Portapivot is a recently founded venture focusing on B2B e-commerce sales of pivoting hinges to professionals in the construction sector and resellers in 24 countries.
M80 invested in Theuma in April 2019.
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Eurodommages
Short description
Eurodommages is a wholesale broker specialising mostly in non-standard vehicle risk insurance. The company designs, underwrites and manages insurance contracts for SMEs (fleet), higher risk and young drivers, backed by prime insurance and re-insurance companies. Its pricing and risk models make extensive use of available big data sources. Eurodommages distributes its products via a large broker network in France. The company is based near Bordeaux and employs around 40 people.
Recently, Eurodommages acquired Hyalin, a small broker in France specialized in professional risks for regulated businesses.
M80 invested in Eurodommages in December 2018.
Realized investments
-
Gandi.net
Short description
Gandi.net is a leading European internet registrar. It provides domain names registration and management, web hosting services, cloud, as well as web security services, with over two million domain names serviced in Europe, the US and Asia. It is headquartered in Luxembourg and employs around 140 people in Paris, San Francisco and Taipei, to provide 24/7 customer service to its global client base.
M80 invested in Gandi.net in February 2019 and successfully exited in February 2023.
www.gandi.net/en
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Naturacare
Short description
Naturacare is a CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization), currently regrouping Strapharm in France, Hedelab in Belgium, and Ambi Pack in the Netherlands.
Strapharm is a leading French contract development and manufacturing company for food supplements. The company supplies major food supplement brands and large retailers in France and internationally. In May 2021, we have finalized the acquisition of Hedelab in Belgium, therefore bringing new clients, complementary galenic forms and expertise to Strapharm. In May 2022, the acquisition of Ambi Pack allowed to broaden Strapharm’s product offering with new food supplements, medical devices and cosmetics. The Naturacare group was then created in May 2022.
M80 invested in Strapharm in October 2019 and successfully exited in October 2023.
www.strapharm.fr
ESG policy and reporting
M80 Partners commits to consider ESG issues in the course of its due diligence process and in the monitoring of its portfolio investments, seeking to maximize the economic and social returns on investments.
We have established an ESG policy presenting M80 Partners’ values, commitments, and approach to integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities into its activity, at the management company level and within its investment activity. This policy ensures M80 Partners’ compliance with the requirements of the European Union Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
This charter is applicable to the whole M80 Partners perimeter, including all funds and portfolio companies except otherwise stated.
M80 Partners is a signatory of the Initiative Climat international and the PRI (Principles for Responsible Investments), committing to the following six Principles:
- Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.
- Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.
- Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.
- Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.
- Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.
- Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles.
Our whole team is committed to integrating ESG matters into our
investment activity and at the management company level. When needed, we rely on external experts to support us in the implementation of our strategy, for instance to train our team on ESG topics and build specific action plans with our portfolio companies. In 2021 M80 Partners started implementing a dedicated ESG reporting software to track and consolidate the ESG performance of all its investments, monitor ESG risks, and calculate the carbon footprint of companies. This resulted into the publication of our first 2021 Sustainability Report.
Contact
We are based in Brussels.
- 158-160 rue de Livourne /
- Livornostraat 158-160
- 1000 Brussels
- We have an E-bike charging station available.
- T Please contact anyone of our team.
By train
The closest train station to our office is Brussels Midi/Zuid which is the main station for arrivals by Thalys, Eurostar and TGV in Brussels.
When you arrive at the station, head towards the tramway platform and take the 81 line in the direction of Montgomery. Get off at the Bailli stop, and our office is located just 200 meters away.
Taxis are best avoided – if in doubt, take an Uber.
By car
Easiest is to use Waze, introducing “parking Louise Village”. Electric car charging stations are available. The car park is a short 15-minute walk from our office, or you can take the tramway line 8 at Stephanie and get off at Bailli stop.
If you prefer not to use the car park, you can park on the streets near the office.
By metro
Our office is conveniently situated just 200 meters from the Bailli tramway stop, which serves lines 8, 81, and 93.