The Carcorp Impulsa award recognises the fund (national and international) that has most boosted the private equity sector in Spain in the last two years. It is also the only Spanish fund among the TOP 100 European Fund Managers according to PEI (Private Equity International). In 2015 Portobello sold its portfolio of investees bought before 2014 to an American secondary fund and in the last two years has invested in 12 companies.
What kind of companies does Portobello invest in?
Portobello invests in Spanish companies in any sector except financials, real estate and technology, which have non-cycle dependent growth and meet investment criteria such as: leading companies in niche markets with low penetration, with a first class management team, with debt capacity and a company value of between €10M and €100M.
The most common types of operations are
Capital substitution: debt and non-debt buy-outs (LBOs, MBOs, MBIs).
Development capital: provision of capital to accelerate growth and/or to strengthen the financial structure.
Portfolio companies
Portobello Capital has invested €250M in seven Spanish companies over the past two years.
The latest transaction was the investment in Trison, a world leader in sensory marketing for commercial spaces. Headquartered in La Coruña, it has a strong international presence, providing services in more than 80 countries and has offices, warehouses and showrooms all over the world, in countries such as Spain, China, Mexico, the United States and Russia. Among the factors that made the investment possible were: its growth potential, thanks to the incipient transformation of the customer experience at the point of sale, the opportunities the company has to enhance M&A operations and its high presence in the European market, exporting 85% of its sales.
Divestments made
In June 2016 Portobello suddenly transferred its seven "historical" holdings to a secondary fund led by US private equity firm HarbourVest. This deal allows Portobello to pay back the shareholders of its first fund -which was endowed with 310 million euros- after almost a decade since they invested in it. In addition, due to the management fees that Portobello's management will continue to receive for managing these companies, the company ensures that it continues to operate comfortably while investing the second fund, closed last year for 375 million.
In January of this year Portobello has divested its stake in Festaselling 80% of the fashion company to its founder, Ricardo Ferrer. In this way, the businessman, who controlled 20% of the capital, returns to take over 100% of the company.
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