Unigestion marks first close of third private equity direct fund

Unigestion, the independent, specialist asset manager, is delighted to announce the first close of the Unigestion Direct III (UD III) Fund, its third direct private equity fund.

The Fund, which has raised close to €200m in its first close, targets a portfolio of global, innovative mid-market companies whose growth is underpinned by long-term trends. UD III provides investors with exposure to exciting hard-to-access companies in themes uncorrelated to GDP, such as healthcare, service efficiency, future of work and sustainable cities. It has just closed its first investment in an American substance use treatment business and will be closing its second in a European pharmaceutical company in the coming weeks.

The fund is compliant with Article 8 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which promotes environmental and social characteristics of investments. As a result, many portfolio companies in UD III will have economic activities that make a positive contribution to at least one of the UN’s sustainable development goals.

The launch of UD III follows the successful close of UDII in 2021 at over €600m. This fund has made investments in high quality mid-market companies such as Freightwise, a US logistics technology business, and Zeit für Brot, a German premium bakery chain. UD II was Unigestion’s first private equity fund to be compliant with Article 8 of SFDR.

Leveraging its culture of intelligent risk taking, Unigestion’s investment process integrates an internally developed machine learning tool called PEpper (Private Equity Predictive Performance).  By integrating mind and machine, the tool has proven its ability to quickly weed out likely underperformers and identify companies that are better able to deliver high returns. This scoring tool complements the due diligence done by Unigestion’s experienced investment team.

With a global team of 49 private equity professionals, Unigestion sources direct investment opportunities from its network of more than 700 investment partners.  Such partners range from specialist fund managers to fundless sponsors and other industry experts, as well as business owners.

Christophe de Dardel, Head of Private Equity at Unigestion, said: “We have built a strong track record of investing in mid-market companies over the past 25 years, targeting businesses that are often below the radar of other investors. We are delighted to have achieved the first close of UD III and make our first investment. In this environment, our strategy allows us to source resilient companies which have strong cashflows, low leverage and high pricing power thanks to their leading positions in niche sectors. Guided by our investment themes, our portfolio is designed to deliver robust underlying growth and thus attractive returns to our investors, irrespective of macroeconomic conditions.”

Important Information

The information and data presented in this document may discuss general market activity or industry trends but is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice. It is not a financial promotion and represents no offer, solicitation or recommendation of any kind, to invest in the strategies or in the investment vehicles it refers to. Some of the investment strategies described or alluded to herein may be construed as high risk and not readily realisable investments, which may experience substantial and sudden losses including total loss of investment.

The investment views, economic and market opinions or analysis expressed in this document present Unigestion’s judgement as at the date of publication without regard to the date on which you may access the information. There is no guarantee that these views and opinions expressed will be correct nor do they purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets and developments referred to in it. All information provided here is subject to change without notice. To the extent that this report contains statements about the future, such statements are forward-looking and subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive products, market acceptance risks and other risks.

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Unigestion (UK) Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Unigestion Asset Management (France) S.A. is authorised and regulated by the French “Autorité des Marchés Financiers” (AMF). Unigestion Asset Management (Canada) Inc., with offices in Toronto and Montreal, is registered as a portfolio manager and/or exempt market dealer in nine provinces across Canada and also as an investment fund manager in Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland & Labrador. Its principal regulator is the Ontario Securities Commission. Unigestion Asset Management (Düsseldorf) SA is co-regulated by the “Autorité des Marchés Financiers” (AMF) and the “Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht” (BAFIN). Unigestion SA has an international advisor exemption in Quebec, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Unigestion SA is authorised and regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Unigestion SA’s assets are situated outside wof Canada and, as such, there may be difficulty enforcing legal rights against Unigestion SA.