A-SAFE (“the Company”) and IK Partners (“IK”) are pleased to announce that the IK Partnership II (“IK PF II”) Fund has acquired a minority stake in the Company. A-SAFE is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of industrial polymer safety barrier systems. IK acquired its stake from the Smith family who remain significantly invested. This is the final investment from the IK PF II Fund, which is now fully committed. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Yorkshire, United Kingdom, A-SAFE produces a diverse range of polymer-based products which are deployed in factories and warehouses across the world to safeguard both people and assets from collisions with vehicles such as forklifts. The Company has over 700 employees, with over 80 individuals committed to research and development.

As a founder owned and managed business, A-SAFE has achieved significant organic growth and today, serves more than 6,000 customers in over 50 countries. Its diversified customer base comprises some of the world’s largest businesses, including Coca-Cola, UPS and Amazon. With the aim of further strengthening its leadership position in the industrial polymer space globally, the Company has decided to form a partnership with IK.

With the support of IK and its dedicated Partnership Fund, which focuses on minority investments in established fast-growing entrepreneurial businesses, A-SAFE is poised for further growth. Led by James and Luke Smith, the management team is delighted to partner with IK. Together, they aim to unlock growth opportunities and drive innovation, further redefining industry standards.

James and Luke Smith, Co-CEOs at A-SAFE, stated: “We are pleased to be partnering with IK. This is an exciting opportunity for us as we look to fortify our leading position in the market, while simultaneously expanding our global reach, enhancing our product offering and driving greater value for our customers. With IK’s expertise and resources, we are confident that the Company will go from strength-to-strength and we look forward to working with Thomas and his team.”

Thomas Grob, Partner at IK and Advisor to the IK Partnership II Fund, added: “A-SAFE’s expansion into new markets and product segments, alongside its commitment to innovation, has firmly positioned it as an industry leader in workplace safety, protection and efficiency systems. The Company’s ability to anticipate market needs, coupled with its relentless pursuit of product excellence, has garnered our utmost confidence in the management team and its ability to drive positive action. We look forward to working with James, Luke and their team over the next few years.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar
Phone: +44 (0) 7787 558 193
vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com

IK Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK VIII Fund has signed an agreement to sell its stake in Eres Group (“Eres” or “the Group”), a leading French financial technology player in the employee profit-sharing and retirement scheme markets, to Eurazeo. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Established in 2005 and headquartered in Paris, Eres is a leading French independent player in the advisory, structuring, asset management and distribution of employee profit sharing plans (PEE, PERECO), retirement schemes (PER) and employee shareholding plans. The Group distributes its products through a network of more than 6,600 distributors (wealth management advisors, insurance brokers and accountants) to address the needs of both mid-sized and large French companies. 

With the support of IK since 2019, the management team has: improved operational efficiency through strategic headcount growth; strengthened its commercial team for better distribution of Eres products through its extensive network; achieved inorganic growth with a series of successful acquisitions; and digitised its product offering. Eres has grown its assets under management to €6.7 billion, at a rate of 23% per annum.

Mathieu Chauvin, CEO of Eres, said: “The Eurazeo DNA, focused on culture, agility and growth ambitions, resonates strongly with Eres values, making Eurazeo a clear partner of choice for our next stage of growth. We are excited to partner with them and leverage their deep sector expertise and transformational growth experience. We also want to thank the team at IK for their outstanding support over the last few years.”

Rémi Buttiaux, Managing Partner at IK Partners and Advisor to the IK VIII Fund, said: ““Eres has almost tripled in size during our five-year partnership with them. Through operational improvement initiatives, significant investment in its people, digitalisation of the product offering and add-on acquisitions, the Group has cemented its position as a leading player in the French fintech market. We wish Mathieu, his team and their new owners every success in the next stage of the Group’s development.” Completion of the transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approvals.

For further questions, please contact:

IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar
Phone: +44 (0) 7787 558 193
vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com

IK Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap III (“IK SC III”) Fund has signed
an agreement to acquire Checkmate Fire (“Checkmate” or “the Company”), the UK’s largest
passive fire protection specialist, from YFM Equity Partners (“YFM”). IK is making its first UK investment from the Fund’s dedicated pool of Development Capital. The existing management
team will be reinvesting alongside IK. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Established in 1989 and headquartered in West Yorkshire, Checkmate provides a comprehensive range of passive fire protection services to organisations across the Healthcare, Education, Government, Social Housing and Commercial sectors. The Company inspects, installs, remediates and maintains passive fire systems and also provides installation and maintenance of active fire systems.

Checkmate operates across the UK and has over 200 employees. The Company is responsible for maintaining passive fire systems in around 2,000 buildings nationally to ensure compliance with increasingly stringent regulations, carrying out over 30,000 fire door remediations or replacements per year. The focus is on maintaining fire doors rather than replacing them; an approach that aligns with the Company’s commitment to strong environmental, social and governance practices across the business.

Since YFM’s investment and under the existing management team, Checkmate has scaled rapidly, expanding its service offering and supporting more customers in managing their passive fire systems through multi-year contracts. In partnership with IK, Checkmate will look to further develop its passive fire offering, particularly its inspections division, in a market with compelling long-term growth dynamics. The Company will also continue to invest in its people and technology to enhance operational efficiency, while also executing a targeted M&A strategy.

Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

John Lewthwaite, CEO at Checkmate, said: “We are very much looking forward to working with IK after a successful partnership with YFM. IK’s track record of supporting businesses in the fire protection market, combined with our position as UK’s leading passive fire specialist, means that we are best placed to drive future growth in a market with attractive dynamics. We would like to take this opportunity to thank YFM for all their support and guidance over the last five years.”

Simon May, Partner at IK and Advisor to the IK SC III Fund, added: “This is an exciting first investment for the IK Development Capital strategy in the UK. Under the stewardship of John and his team, Checkmate has established itself as a high-quality provider in a rapidly growing and increasingly regulated market. We have been impressed with the Company’s journey to date and see plenty of opportunities for continued growth. We look forward to working with the team at Checkmate and leveraging the resources and expertise of the wider IK platform to deliver an ambitious strategy.”

Steve Harrison, Partner at YFM Equity Partners, commented: “It has been an absolute pleasure working with John and the entire team at Checkmate since we first invested in 2018. The business has seen rapid growth and development during this period, establishing itself as the leading player in the UK passive fire protection market. We wish Checkmate the best of luck for the future with the support of IK.”

For further questions, please contact:

Checkmate Fire
Ian Turpin
Phone: +44 7841 443948
info@checkmatefire.com

IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar
Phone: +44 (0) 7787 558 193
vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com

YFM Equity Partners
Viktoria Harrison
Phone: +44 7716 097 774
viktoria.harrison@yfmep.com

IK Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap III (“IK SC III”) Fund has signed an agreement to invest in Schwingshandl automation technology GmbH (“Schwingshandl” or “the Company”), a leading provider of smart intralogistics automation solutions based in Austria. IK is partnering with the founders, Thomas Schwingshandl and Enrico Larcher, who will both retain a significant minority share in the Company. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered near Linz, Austria, Schwingshandl provides innovative, made-to-measure automation solutions for a broad range of end-market applications. The Company specialises in designing, engineering and assembling customised modules and sub-systems such as storage and distribution technology, lifts, conveyor systems, (de-) palletisers, (de-) stackers and (un-) loading stations. Schwingshandl is a long-term partner to blue-chip customers globally, focusing on the development of high quality, complex intralogistics solutions, leveraging its successful automation track record of over 20 years.

Since inception, Schwingshandl has demonstrated impressive growth, in a large part due to the entrepreneurial spirit of the founders as well as the dedication of its 90 employees. The Company recently finalised the expansion of its production facility and has firmly established itself as a leading provider of customised warehouse automation solutions. In partnership with IK, Schwingshandl will look to: continue investing in its people and organisation; selectively broaden its service offering; and pursue international expansion. Both founders will retain their respective leadership positions on Schwingshandl’s management board and will remain significantly invested in the Company.

Thomas Schwingshandl, Founder and CEO of Schwingshandl, said: “The rise of warehouse automation is a key trend we are seeing across various end-industries, presenting attractive growth opportunities for a Company like ours. We are excited to welcome an experienced partner like IK on board. The team at IK has already recognised Schwingshandl’s potential for development and possesses both the experience and expertise to support our ongoing expansion strategy.”

Nils Pohlmann, Partner at IK and Advisor to the IK SC III Fund, said: “Under the stewardship of Thomas, Enrico and their team, Schwingshandl has established itself as a leading provider of customised intralogistics automation solutions in Europe. We have been extremely impressed with the Company’s journey to date and look forward to utilising our significant experience in the automation technology sector to unlock further value.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar
Phone: +44 (0) 7787 558 193
vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com

IK Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK X Fund has entered into exclusive negotiations to invest in Eurofeu Group (“Eurofeu” or “the Group”), a leading player in the French fire protection market. IK is acquiring a majority stake from CAPZA and the management team, who will both be reinvesting. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Founded in 1972 in Senonches (Eure-et-Loir, France), Eurofeu installs and maintains fire protection equipment, as well as fire protection systems, for business-to-business (“B2B”) clients mainly. As one of the few market providers in possession of integrated manufacturing capabilities, Eurofeu has a highly differentiated offering. The Group also benefits from a high level of sales recurrence thanks to the maintenance side of the activity, as well as the associated sales of spare parts.

Today, Eurofeu has 1,850 employees, based across 42 agencies and two manufacturing sites, who serve roughly 160,000 B2B clients across France.

Under CEO Eric Hentgès and with the backing of CAPZA since July 2020, the Group has grown considerably; both organically and via an active buy-and-build strategy. In partnership with IK and with the continued support of CAPZA, Eurofeu has ambitions to leverage its network, salesforce and IT tools at its disposal to drive growth. In addition, the Group plans to expand into other European geographies and drive consolidation.

Completion of the transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approvals.

Eric Hentgès, CEO of Eurofeu, stated: “I have been extremely proud of the progress we have made towards becoming a leading player in the French fire protection market. With CAPZA’s backing since July 2020, we have been able to accelerate organic growth and lead an active M&A strategy, allowing us to expand geographically and broaden the Group’s offering to include equipment with more complex capabilities. We would like to thank CAPZA for their support thus far and look forward to partnering with IK and leveraging their pan-European platform to pursue further expansion.”

Diki Korniloff, Partner at IK and Advisor to the IK X Fund, said: “We have been impressed by Eurofeu’s journey to date and are convinced of the critical and resilient nature of their service offering to a wide base of B2B clients. We are excited to partner with Eric and his team, as well as CAPZA, to support the Group in its next phase of growth, where European expansion will be key. The Group will have access to the full breadth of IK resources and expertise, while also being able to leverage our network of European offices.”

Fabien Bernez, Partner at CAPZA, added: “It has been fantastic to work with Eric and the wider team at Eurofeu over the past few years. Since our investment in 2020, the Group has become a leading player in the French fire safety market; an achievement we are very proud of. We look forward to continuing to support Eurofeu and its management team in the next chapter of growth, alongside IK.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar
Phone: +44 (0) 7787 558 193
vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com

IK Partners (“IK”) is delighted to announce that it is one of 320 companies recognised as ‘Early Adopters’ of the Taskforce of Nature-related Financial Disclosures (“TNFD”) recommendations. These are companies that intend to start making disclosures aligned with the TNFD Recommendations in their corporate reporting by the financial year 2024 (or earlier) or 2025.

The TNFD announced that 320 organisations from over 46 countries have committed to start making nature-related disclosures based on the TNFD Recommendations published in September last year.

The suggested advice and instructions aim to facilitate the incorporation of nature considerations into the decision-making processes of businesses and finance. This, in turn, will promote a shift in global financial flows, encouraging businesses and finance entities to evaluate, disclose and address their dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities related to nature. The overarching goal is to redirect global financial flows away from outcomes that harm nature and towards outcomes that benefit nature, in accordance with the objectives outlined in the Global Biodiversity Framework.

The initial group comprises prominent publicly traded companies from various regions and industry segments, amounting to a total market capitalisation of US$4 trillion. It also encompasses more than 100 financial institutions, including some of the world’s largest asset owners and managers, with a combined total of US$14 trillion in Assets under Management (AUM). Additionally, it includes banks, insurers, and other key market intermediaries like stock exchanges, audit firms, and accounting firms. The full list of Early Adopters is available here.

The early adoption of TNFD recommendations is the latest significant milestone for IK as it continues to fully integrate environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) matters into its investment process. This announcement follows the validation of IK’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets by the Science Based Targets Initiative in 2022.

Christopher Masek, Chief Executive Officer at IK Partners, said: “I am pleased to see IK become an Early Adopter of the TNFD and committing to making nature-related disclosures in accordance with a globally recognised framework. This will allow us to develop a greater understanding of nature impacts and dependencies of our pan-European portfolio. We are confident that this will support the continued success of both our firm and the companies we work with, thereby benefitting our investors and other important stakeholders.”

Jovana Stopic, ESG Director at IK Partners, added: “This is a very exciting development for IK’s approach to sustainability, focused on enabling us to make the right investment decisions and futureproofing our portfolio companies. Biodiversity and nature are often overlooked; however, it is vital that these elements are given due consideration alongside those related to climate change. The TNFD recommendations are the essential first step in ensuring that this is the case.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar
Phone: +44 (0) 7787 558 193
vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com