FrenchFood Capital holds €132m final close for maiden fund

The GP held a €70m first close for its maiden fund in Q3 2017.

FrenchFood 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.

FrenchFood aims to capitalise on the trend towards healthier eating and more transparency on food traceability.

Investors
Three types of investors had backed FrenchFood's first-time fund at the time of its first close in 2017: 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.

Paribas Principal Investments and Fimalac, the holding of Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, have made commitments to the vehicle since then, according to Capital Finance.

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 retail.

Targeted businesses will typically be valued between €20-150m, for equity tickets of €5-15m. The vehicle could also set up co-investments with its own LPs of up to €40m.

The GP has backed five businesses to date: Thierry Marx La Boulangerie (2017), Monbanquet.fr, La Piadineria, Les 2 Marmottes (2018) and K-Santé (2019).

People
FrenchFood Capital – Paul Moutinho, Laurent Plantier, Perrine Bismuth, Denis Hennequin (partners).

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