Three Hills Capital Partners, the new private equity investment platform launched in November 2013, has held the final close of its first fund at the hard cap of EUR100 million (USD127 million).
Three Hills Capital Partners was founded by Mauro Moretti, a former partner at Hutton Collins, the firm he joined in 2008 from BC Partners.
The team includes Leks de Boer, a former member of the investment team of Hutton Collins, and Michele Prencipe, who also worked at Hutton Collins as well as Clessidra.
The new fund, based on its capability to provide subordinated private debt and senior equity solutions across Europe, is aimed at financing mid-market companies led by institutional management teams and entrepreneurs.
Three Hills Capital Partners, rather than investing in specific sectors, will look for opportunities where the targets seeking funding are looking for new variable and flexible capital as an alternative to the traditional debt and equity financing models. The fund will target investments where the equity cheque will be in the range of EUR15 million to EUR50 million.
THCP’s investment philosophy is based on enabling its partners to achieve their financing objectives without the restrictions of bank debt and without the cost implications of partnering with other pure equity providers.
The new fund has already committed approximately EUR30 million of capital to two medium-sized growth companies: Dedalus, a supplier of healthcare speciality software solutions with a leader position in Italy and with presence in China, South Africa and Eastern Europe; and Byron, a fast growing restaurant chain operating in the UK.
The fundraising has been conducted across Europe targeting HNWI, family offices and institutional investors.
Moretti says: “I’m pleased to announce, after less than a year from the founding of THCP, the closing of the fund at the top range of our fundraising target. The innovative model, the unique investment approach and the enthusiasm of the team helped us to accelerate the process. Now we are more and more committed to looking at new deals to present to our investors. We are confident that in the next couple of months we will be able to announce the third deal for the fund.”
