First close for Leman Capital

Leman Capital has reached the first close of its second buyout fund, BVP Europe II at €150 million. The team hopes to achieve a final target of between €400 million and €500 million.

The fund has attracted commitments from prominent US and Canadian institutional investors, all previous investors in Leman Capital’s first fund, BVP Europe. The new fund will follow a similar investment strategy to the first fund, taking majority stakes in family-owned businesses with revenues ranging from €30 million to €300 million. While the previous fund concentrated on investments in Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland, the second fund will also pursue opportunities in Italy, Spain and the Benelux countries.

BVP Europe is now fully invested in seven companies spanning various industries including automotive, aerospace and technology components, specialty chemicals, home and office supplies, fashion and watch components.

In anticipation of its increased investment volume, Leman Capital has added significantly to its team over the past year. Olivier Chantre joined the firm as partner after twenty years with Bank UBS in Geneva, Zurich, New York and San Francisco. Roderick Egli joined after founding a financial services company in Milan and prior to that he spent eight years in investment banking with Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse Financial Products in London. Christophe Borer recently joined as director from McKinsey where he advised companies in Switzerland and the US. And Jeremy Howarth and Ralph-Oliver Hefti have joined as associate directors from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Boston Consulting Group respectively.