Business Excellence 2019

44 Acquisition International - 2019 Business Excellence Awards Drawing on more than two decade’s experience in the investment space, Ekkio Capital is able to offer investors and businesses alike the benefit of its vast industry knowledge and financial expertise. We invited its President, Jean-Marc Sceo, to tell us more about the firm and showcase the secrets behind its vast success in this competitive market. or more than 20 years Ekkio Capital has been investing in high-potential growing French and European SMEs across three sectors: tourism and leisure; health care and beauty; as well as control and security. Jean-Marc explores the firm’s service offering in greater detail and explains how it has now evolved over the years. “Here at Ekkio Capital we closely support SME development projects through an active involvement alongside CEOs and top management. We support them to optimize their growth and in their international development, advise them on strategic investments, mergers and acquisitions, and provide them with an extensive network of contributing business leaders and industry experts. “Over recent years we have created strategic committees within portfolio companies to help them in their development strategy. We also have dedicated teams to provide them operational support on F six different areas of expertise including human resources, financial issues, IT, communication, business development and internal organization. As evidenced, at Ekkio Capital we are constantly thinking about the evolution of our company while remaining faithful to our investment strategy, and this approach has helped us to provide our investors and the companies we invest in with cutting- edge support and services that meet their needs.” This focus on evolving and adapting its service offering has helped the firm to ensure it is at the forefront of the ever-evolving investment market, as Jean-Marc highlights. “Today, the Private Equity industry is focusing more and more on its corporate sustainability, by practicing responsible investing. As a result, Principles for Responsible Investment are now becoming more essential. At Ekkio Capital, we have always advocated an ethical, responsible and long-term approach to investing and we would like to strengthen this commitment but also encourage our portfolio companies to have a more responsible activity. “All of our businesses are evaluated, using a questionnaire thats developed and administered by a specialized consulting company, which helps them to improve their commitments. We are also currently working on establishing a generalized model of ‘value distribution’ between the employees in our portfolio companies. As such we have high hopes that we will remain compliant with regulations and ahead of private equity industry developments in the future.” As he looks to the future Jean-Marc is very confident that Ekkio Capital can build upon its already great success as the firm seeks international growth. “In May of 2018 Ekkio Capital made a final close for Ekkio Capital IV on €161m, surpassing our €150m target. Now, our priorities are about finding and investing in the right companies. We also plan to develop in Germany, which is why last year we recruited a professional focusing on the German market, and another is due to be added to our team soon. “Overall, Ekkio Capital aims to become a European player, with plans to expand into Spain and Italy in the long term. We are seeking growth whilst looking to implement our four strong principles: a sectorial focus, targeting companies between 10 and 30 million turnover, and doing primary transactions and direct deals. This dual focus will ensure that we remain true to our principals as we grow and flourish.” Company: Ekkio Capital Contact: Jean-Marc Sceo Website: http://ekkio.fr/ Ekkio Capital: Best Investments Firm 2019 - France Photo Credit: Jean-Marc Sceo, President of Ekkio Capital