Pictet Group
Pictet Direct Private Equity | Capital for Entrepreneurs
We are a long-term investor with a mission to support European entrepreneurs, families and management teams accelerate the growth potential of their businesses.
What sets us apart
The notion of partnership is fundamental to our approach. We aim to work closely with the leadership teams of companies in which we invest, providing not only capital but also hands-on support to build leading businesses.
Our long-term mindset informs our identification of core themes and detailed investment theses that guide our sector focus.
We benefit from being part of the Pictet Group, which for more than 200 years has been building deep relationships with, and providing advice to, European entrepreneurs and family business owners.
We partner with family and entrepreneur-owned businesses in industries that will benefit from long-term secular growth, using our expertise to help them realise their full potential.
Our criteria
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Mid market
We typically invest equity amounts of €20-80 million into businesses with enterprise values up to €200 million. We invest into businesses with a track record of profitable growth and EBITDA of €3-15 million.
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Flexible capital
We have a flexible approach to deal structuring and typically take significant or controlling stakes in businesses that are co-owned with founders.
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Long-term value creation
We have a determined focus on long-term value creation and seek to hold investments for 6-8 years.
Our experience
We seek to work with entrepreneurs and management teams in a supportive and collaborative manner. We are active investors who have experience in building businesses internationally and provide patient support to portfolio companies.
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1989First private equity investment
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5,300+Full-time equivalent employees
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653bn EURAssets under management or custody*
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217Years of partnering for the long-term
Our team
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Alexander Binzer, Vice-President
Alexander has nine years’ experience working in DACH mid-market private equity and strategy consulting. He joined Pictet from Quadriga Capital in Frankfurt, where he was a Director in their Tech-Enabled Services sector team. Prior to that, he worked as a management consultant for Bain & Company in Munich. Alexander has a BSc in Management and Technology from the Technical University of Munich, and an MSc in Finance and Private Equity from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Contact
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Andrzej Sokolowski, Head of UK
Andrzej’s experience spans over a decade of private equity investing in the UK and European middle market. Prior to joining Pictet, he was a Partner at Pamplona Capital Management leading business services and industrials, having previously also worked at Deutsche Bank in London. Andrzej has an MA (Oxon) in Modern Languages (French and Italian) from the University of Oxford.
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Catherine Lavender, Investment Professional
Cat joined Pictet from EY-Parthenon, where she led commercial due diligence and strategy engagements for European private equity and corporate clients, focusing on the education, technology and business services sectors. Cat has a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.
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Chiara Stella Camellini, Investment Professional
Chiara Stella joined Pictet from Onex in London, where she worked on numerous large cap and upper mid-market opportunities across Europe. She previously worked at CPP Investments, having started her career in investment banking at J.P. Morgan. Chiara has an MSc in International Management (cum laude) from Bocconi University.
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Edmund Buckley, Head of Direct Private Equity
With over 20 years’ experience in the European middle-market, Ed is passionate about working with entrepreneurs to fulfil their business’s potential. He has invested in multiple businesses in the UK, Germany and Belgium in the Education, Business Services and Industrial sectors. Prior to joining Pictet, he was a Managing Director at THI Investments where he led the private equity team. Earlier in his career he was a partner at Englefield (Bregal) Capital. He began his career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and has an MA (Cantab) in History from the University of Cambridge.
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Hugo Hickson, Value Creation Principal
Hugo focuses on supporting portfolio companies with strategy, digitalisation, operational improvements, sales and pricing optimisation, and professionalisation of ESG. He joined Pictet from McKinsey & Company, bringing over 10 years’ experience of helping European businesses improve and grow. Prior to McKinsey, he worked at Procter & Gamble’s European headquarters, focusing on top-line growth, strategy and project management. Hugo has an MA (Cantab) in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge.
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Jan Dreesen, Investment Professional
Jan came to Pictet from Aurelius Group in Munich, where he worked on a number of middle-market European buyout and carve-out transactions. He started his career as a management consultant at Ernst & Young, where he developed and executed strategic and digitalisation initiatives. Jan has a BA in International Business Administration from the University of St Gallen.
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Nikolaus Hubmann, Head of DACH
Nikolaus has extensive private equity investing and operating experience in the European mid market, with expertise predominately across Industrials and Services in DACH but also the UK and Belgium. Nikolaus was previously Principal at Sun European Partners LLP, the European advisor to US-based Sun Capital Partners Inc, a global private equity firm. Prior to that, he worked in investment banking at Deutsche Bank in both London and Frankfurt. He has a Master’s degree in International Business Administration & Chinese from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
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Sean Howard, Vice-President
Sean brings a broad skillset from numerous years in European private equity and M&A, as well as strategy consulting. He was previously a Vice President at Ares Management's Private Equity Group, having invested across multiple sectors including environmental consulting, engineering and healthcare services. Earlier in his career Sean was an M&A Associate at Barclays Investment Bank in the Power, Utilities & Infrastructure Group, and started off his career at KPMG. Sean has a first class BSc in Exercise & Sport Science from the University of Bath.
Our investments
Company profile: Pareto is an award-winning provider of technical building-management services, primarily consisting of the compliance-driven or business-critical maintenance of mechanical and electrical assets. It serves customers across a range of sectors, managing a mixture of commercial offices and highly complex and unique estates (such as zoological sites). The company is currently UK focused, but with a track record of expanding operations internationally (including in Ireland, Canada, Malta, Bulgaria and Romania).
Investment thesis: Pareto operates in a market that is large and growing, but fragmented. This market is highly resilient to economic cycles, as revenues are largely driven by statutory requirements on building standards or by services deemed business critical. Within the market, Pareto has a differentiated brand due to its ESG initiatives and social inclusion, and is recognised for its quality of service. The fragmentation of the market offers the potential to pursue complementary accretive deals.
Our commitment to sustainability
Our approach of long-term partnership means that sustainability is essential. We help management teams operate and grow in an environmentally sustainable and responsible manner, which we expect to create long-term value for all shareholders and stakeholders.