Integra Partners heads for year-end close for EUR 250m second fund

Anastasia Gnezditskaia
02 February 2023

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Belgian sponsor Integra Partners is aiming for a final close for its second fund by year-end, with the vehicle open to further commitments from retail and small institutional investors, partner and co-founder Bernard Hendrikx said.

The fund has a EUR 250m target but does not have a hard-cap, he said.

The sponsor is pursuing a strategy of rolling closings for the fund, which has raised EUR 215m to date, he noted.

The fund primarily targets retail investors, as well as family offices and small institutional investors, with a focus on Belgium. It accepts tickets starting from EUR 500,000, he said adding the fund aims to democratise access to private equity for investors seeking to have a diverse portfolio.

Integra Global Fund has invested 10% of the capital that it has raised to date and has committed EUR 60m (30%) of its capital for further investments, Hendrikx said.

The GP's first investment vehicle, Integra Fund, was set up in 2018 and raised EUR 157m from retail investors in Belgium, including around 150 parties, each contributing approximately EUR 1m, as reported.

Investment strategy
Integra pursues an investment strategy that is increasingly less focused on direct investments, Hendrikx said, and it plans to make only co-investments or fund investments with its next vehicle. The firm focuses on growth and buyout funds and has made 20 fund investments and 15 co-investments to date.

Integra has a global focus with 40%-45% dedicated to Europe, 40%-45% to the US and the remaining 10%-20% allocated to Asia. Integra has a preference for mid-market and larger SMEs.

Integra has a sector-agnostic approach to investments, provides tickets of EUR 5m-EUR 15m, and is more focused on building value of its target companies than add-ons, Hendrikx said. It does not tend to participate in additional capital injections for its investments, he noted. Among its direct investment portfolio companies, Belgian recruitment company Nestor is pursuing M&A, he said.

Integra acquires large minority and majority stakes and holds investments for four to six years. It does not stand in the lead for exits, instead opting to follow its co-investors in their exit strategy for each of its portfolio companies.

It currently has five companies in its portfolio as direct investments. The firm has already deployed Integra Global Fund into UK-based ice-cream company Little Moons, French higher education company EDH Group, and US-based franchiser of home-owner services Authority Brands, all as co-investments, Hendrikx said.