Access gathers €226m for co-investment

Access Capital Partners has held a final close on its European co-investment fund on €226 million, according to a statement from the firm.

Access Co-Investment Fund Buy-out Europe had an initial target of €150 million, and held a first close on €70 million in November 2014, as reported by Private Equity International.

All but two investors in the vehicle were committed by Q1 2016, Access told PEI. Those two investors had specific requirements – due to a change in regulations – which required Access to establish a vehicle for them in Luxembourg, the firm told PEI.

Access has made a GP commitment to the fund that is above the industry standard, the firm said, but declined to give the specific amount.

Around 70 percent of the vehicle’s investors are existing Access Capital LPs, and 90 percent of the investor base is made up of pension funds and insurance companies, with the remainder family offices.

The vehicle is already almost 50 percent invested in eight businesses located in the UK, France, Denmark, Germany and Italy with a strong international presence, and operating across business services, consumer services, manufacturing, equipment rental and food.

It will make around 15 investments in total, focusing on smaller Western European buy-out transactions, and is looking to take significant minority stakes of 25-30 percent in each business. The average fund size the vehicle has co-invested alongside is around €250 million, and most of the time the co-investment is in a buy-and-build deal which requires extra capex, Access told PEI.

The fund has a limit of no more than two deals alongside a single general partner.

This is Access Capital’s first buy-out co-investment fund. It also manages a mezzanine and private debt co-investment fund, and an infrastructure co-investment fund.

Access Capital is also in market with its seventh fund of funds, and is expecting to hold a first close on that vehicle shortly. It is unclear how much the firm is targeting for the fund. Its predecessor closed significantly above its €400 million target on €644 million, according to PEI data.