FrenchFood Capital holds €70m first close for maiden fund

FrenchFood Capital was launched in 2016 by three food sector specialists: Paul Moutinho, previously a partner at Naxicap; Laurent Plantier, the co-founder of Alain Ducasse Entreprise; and Perrine Bismuth, the founder of communications agency La Deuxième Maison. The founding trio was joined by Denis Hennequin, who previously served as CEO of McDonald's Europe and headed the hospitality group Accor.

The firm's maiden fund, for which an official name has not been announced, is targeting €100m by year-end, with a hard-cap fixed at €120m.

FrenchFood said it would aim to capitalise on the trend towards healthier eating and more transparency on food traceability.

According to the GP, 98% of companies operating within the agri-food sector in France are small to medium-sized businesses with fewer than 250 employees. Yet, those companies only account for 43% of the revenues and 33% of the exports made in the sector. FrenchFood will aim to help those SMEs accelerate their growth, in France and abroad, the firm said in a statement.

Investors
Three types of investors have so far invested in FrenchFood: industrials from the agri-food sector; entrepreneurs and family offices specialised in food or retail; and a number of institutional investors, including BPI France, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, Tikehau Capital and Banques Populaire Rives de Paris.

Investments
FrenchFood will provide growth and buyout capital to French SMEs operating within the food sector exclusively, such as agri-food, food production, catering, distribution and retailing.

Targeted businesses will typically be valued between €20-150m, for equity tickets of €1-10m, with a €5-7m sweet spot. The GP is targeting around 15 investments in total, the first of which should be announced over the next two to three months. FrenchFood will mostly secure minority stakes.

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• BPI France