UI Investissements launches impact SME fund

The fund will invest EUR 3m-10m in SMEs that generate a minimum of EUR 1m in cashflow. It launched in the first half of 2022. 

UI Investissement has not revealed the size of the fund, but its earlier, non-impact-linked funds range from around EUR 20m to EUR 100m. 

UI describes it as the "first majority-investment-focused impact fund in France". It will help SMEs both operationally, including through M&A, and to implement impact transformation. 

The fund has been founded by two partners with experience in SME investments. Jean de Puybaudet spent 11 years at Capital Export, a private equity firm focusing on small-cap companies with international development.

Carlos Verkaeren has held senior executive positions at various food companies, including biscuit manufacture Groupe Poult and bakeries Le Grenier à Pain. 

The impact of Cap Autre will be based on four major extra-financial criteria, with the themes defined by each of the companies and closely linked to their activities. This will be independently measured. 

The fund includes the possibility of distributing the capital gain to all of the company's employees.

UI Gestion rebranded as UI Investissements in September 2020.

An earlier small-cap fund, Cap Entrepreneurs 2 – which is not linked to impact targets – raised EUR 33m in July 2021. 

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