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After less than a year of operations, EPA Investissements, through EPA Opportunities I, France’s first institutional investment vehicle fully dedicated to SFs, has already raised €5M and expects to close its fundraising in the next few months with total capital of €10M. On top of that, EPA’s LPs (Siparex and other family offices) are eager to deploy more capital through co-investment. The initiative is led by Guillaume Raux and Bruno Léa, two experienced professionals who bring complementary skills to the firm.
Bruno Léa is a trailblazer in the French SF ecosystem, having launched the first SF in France in 2019 and grown Performer’s revenue from €19M to €54M since then. Guillaume Raux brings 15 years of experience in Private Equity and M&A, having previously worked at Naxicap Partners, where he led and managed LBOs, exits, and value creation strategies for portfolio companies.
Over the last few months, they have already backed 14 SFs across Europe, including, among others, Lapiaz, 7Iron Capital, Vitis Capital, Jōto Transmission, Backer Transmission, and JCTC Transmission & Croissance Entrepreneurial. They have just completed their first acquisition in Spain and expect to close another three in the coming months in France, Germany, and Italy.
Currently, they are investing an average ticket of around €400k per acquisition, with the goal of building a portfolio of around a dozen acquisitions over the next 2 years. They aim to increase their support to approximately 40 searchers, which implies backing about 2 per month over the next 18 months. As Guillaume Raux explained, “EPA Opportunities I was launched to establish a track record and provide a PoC (Proof of Capacity—not to be confused with Proof of Concept, as the SF model is already proven). What institutional investors want is proof of our expertise: our ability to attract top-tier searchers and source high-potential investment opportunities, ultimately leading to strong returns.”
