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Zita Saurel, a founding member of Hellman & Friedman’s European team, has launched Celium Capital, a new investment vehicle through which she will deploy her own capital to back high-potential searchers across EMEA.
Celium Capital backs searchers with both investment and expertise to identify and acquire a good business, generate sustainable growth, and create long-term equity value. Through Celium Capital, Zita plans to back ~12 searchers per year, with the goal of closing 5 acquisitions annually. The focus is to build a high-quality portfolio of companies that can compound over an extended period. Typical investment tickets will range from €0.5–1.2M. While her experience gives her depth in tech, B2B services, and financial services, Zita is open to opportunities across traditional industries where growth and leadership potential align.
Given its permanent capital and nimble structure, Celium Capital can consider a broad range of opportunities: partnering with searchers through either a traditional or self-funded structure, bridging equity gaps, pursuing long-term holds, and participating in secondaries.
Over her 20 year career, Zita has supported founders and executive teams through key inflection points: strategy shifts, innovation, IPOs, cost optimization, leadership transitions, and more. She has led multi-billion-euro transactions in companies such as Allfunds, Scout24, and Wood Mackenzie, and has been hands-on in helping these businesses grow and scale. This is the expertise she now brings to the SF landscape, with the aim of unlocking potential in people and SMEs.
Zita moved to Spain to be at the center of the ecosystem for SFs in Europe. “Europe’s search fund ecosystem is growing rapidly, attracting increasing numbers of talented entrepreneurs. At the same time, many SMEs – the backbone of the European economy – are facing succession as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement. This creates a tremendous opportunity for investors to create value by matching ambitious entrepreneurs with owners wishing to place their legacy in good hands.” Zita aims to be a supportive thought partner to searchers and a collaborative partner with other investors.
