ACP raises €814m for flagship fund-of-funds

Greg Gille
06 July 2021

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Access Capital Partners (ACP) has held a final close for Access Capital Fund VIII Growth Buy-out Europe (ACF VIII) on €814m.

The fundraise exceeded the original target of €700m, ACP said.

According to Unquote Data, ACP held a first close for ACF VIII in June 2019, securing €412m in commitments, with a €700m target.

Speaking to Unquote, ACP managing partner Agnès Nahum said that fundraising took a step back around the time of the coronavirus outbreak before resuming in the fourth quarter of 2020 and ultimately exceeding target.

ACP raised €768m for the previous vehicle in its flagship strategy, ACF VII, in late 2018, exceeding its €500m target. By that point, the fund was already deployed at 74%, according to Unquote coverage at the time. The fund was already larger than its predecessor, ACF VI, which closed on €644m in May 2015.

ACP is also currently raising its second co-investment vehicle - it held a first close for Co-investment Fund Buy-out Europe II on its €300m target in September last year. The fund was launched at the end of the first quarter of 2020.

Investors
The manager noted that ACF VIII attracted "strong" investor support from both new and existing LPs, including insurance companies, public and private pension funds, foundations, and family offices across Europe.

The LP base of previous vehicle ACF VII was predominantly based in DACH with the remainder in France, the Nordic region and the UK, according to previous Unquote coverage. The LP base remains very similar for the new fund, Nahum told Unquote.

Investments
The fund is targeting investments in European SMEs through primary fund commitments (at least 60% of the fund's size) and secondary transactions (up to 40% of the fund's size) in European smaller growth and buyout funds.

Nahum said ACP has already deployed around half of ACF VIII in primary funds and secondary transactions, and it is already showing "robust" performance.

Its selection process focuses on GPs able to demonstrate lower entry multiples through proactive sourcing, lower gearing, and a significant buy-and-build component. On the secondaries side, the firm covers the whole array of transaction types - from LP stakes to GP-leds - while still remaining focused on the smaller end of the market.

ACF VII targeted funds based in Benelux, DACH, the Nordic region, France and the UK, though the usual allocation to the UK seen in previous funds was halved due to uncertainty provoked by Brexit, Unquote reported at the time of the final close. At the time, the firm hoped to return to its normal UK allocation when deploying ACF VIII.

People
Access Capital Partners – Agnès Nahum, Philippe Poggioli (managing partners).