Riverside hires Tesco exec for European expansion

The Riverside Company, a global mid-market investor, has hired Vincent Daelemans as part of its team for the Benelux region and France, where he will focus on finding new investments.

Based in Brussels, Daelemans is responsible for finding proprietary deals in the French and Benelux markets. He joins Riverside from UK-based supermarket chain Tesco, where he served as a business development manager.

Riverside sees growing opportunity in the mid-market in France and the Benelux region, Juan Barnechea, the European head of origination, told PEO in an interview.

“This region is considered to be one of the top three private equity markets in Europe, alongside Germany and the UK. France and Benelux are also markets which contain a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises, which make up the core investment target for Riverside,” said Barnechea.

Additionally, France and Benelux are markets that have a strong focus on the health care sector, which is attractive to Riverside, he said.

“The health care segment is a key specialisation area for Riverside, and we are constantly on the lookout for new investment opportunities within this field,” said Barnechea.

Riverside executives have been actively seeking new markets.

Last month, the company opened its first Australian office in Melbourne. The new office is headed by partner Simon Feiglin, who was formerly based in Riverside’s Cleveland office.

The Melbourne office is the firm's fourth in the Asia Pacific region. Riverside's other Asian offices are located in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo.

The firm currently employs 185 employees worldwide with about 10 focused on Asia. Since its founding in 1988, the firm has invested in 226 transactions with a total enterprise value of $5 billion.