Brenninkmeijer Family Earmarks More For PE

The Brenninkmeijer family, one of the wealthiest in the Netherlands, is allocating more of its fortune to private equity.

The family office, with billions in its coffers, has tapped Steven van de Wall, who started at Anthos Asset Management last month, to set up a private equity portfolio.
Van de Wall was previously head of alternative investments at Delta Lloyd Asset Management, the asset manager for Dutch financial services provider Delta Lloyd Group. He is joined on the team by former colleague Maarten Weiss, also from Delta Lloyd Asset Management where he was head of fixed income, alternatives & quantitative research. Van de Wall said he and Weiss would be managing an undisclosed amount of capital for the Brenninkmeijer family and that the portfolio will be global and broadly diversified by stage.

Anthos Asset Management is the house bank for the Brenninkmeijer family, the Dutch founders and owners of European retail brand C&A. Formerly known as Brenca BV, Anthos Asset Management used to manage the pension fund assets of C&A and was set up to provide financial services for the family and its businesses.

The Brenninkmeijer family is no stranger to private equity and has been an active investor in Europe and North America for almost 40 years. Cofra Holding is the holding company for the family’s current portfolio of retail, real estate, private equity and financial services investments in Europe, North and Latin America. Located in Zug, Switzerland, it is also the headquarters of 12 regional offices, which provide legal, tax and financial services to the group.

Cofra’s investment activity is managed via two companies: Bregal Investments and The Entrepreneurs Fund. Bregal Investments was set up in 2002 and has earmarked more than €3 billion ($4 billion) for private equity commitments. The business is split into two divisions, Bregal Direct Private Equity and Bregal Private Equity Partners. Bregal Direct Private Equity commits money to a select group of general partners with which the team then works closely on direct investments. Its GP partners include U.S. mid-market LBO firm Centre Partners.

Bregal Private Equity Partners manages a diversified portfolio of primary fund investments, co-investments and secondary investments with a select group of buyout and distressed debt funds, mainly in Europe and the U.S. with the goal of committing approximately €1.2 billion to these funds. The aim is to build 25 to 30 long-term GP relationships.

The group also has exposure to venture capital through The Entrepreneurs Fund, a €100 million fund focused on sectors such as life sciences; water technologies; clean automotive technologies and innovative materials.