In recent years, investors have been finding their way to the greenhouse horticulture sector with ease. The good returns, the fast growth, and the sustainable character of the sector contribute to this. At the same time, due to the increase in scale and internationalization of the sector, suppliers eagerly use the growth possibilities that come with the benefit of foreign money. A new player on the market is 365 Capital. The Dutch private equity investment fund has calculated their fundraiser collections, rounding up to a total of 165 million euros. One of the sectors in which they want to invest the most, the horticultural sector.
“Based on their power to innovate, the Netherlands has earned their global leading positions in terms of technology in many parts of the horticulture market. This leads to growth in Dutch companies”, says Hayo van Houten, partner at 365 Capital. “We are interested in companies that are active in certain areas of the horticultural sector, such as players that supply technical products to greenhouse construction, the manufacturers of cultivation supplies, and certain service providers.”
In autumn, 365 Capital raised 72 million euros which they used to invest in education platform Academica Lifelong Learning and sleep specialist Swiss Sense. Half a year later, they have 165 million euros in the bank. “We are a generalist fund, so we not only focus on horticulture and education, though these are the sectors in which we have an above-average interest,” Hayo continues.
365 Capital mainly focuses on companies that are looking to go through an acceleration in growth. This includes both organic growth and growth as a consequence of acquisitions or strategic investments. “We focus on organic and acquisitive expansion. In this process, we try to take on the role of sparring partner for both the entrepreneur and the management team. Together, we work on the company – together, we come up with solutions to any given problem, and we both profit from the times' things go well. It has to be a win-win scenario for both parties.”