PFR Ventures invests PLN 100m into two private debt funds

PFR Ventures invested PLN 100 million into two private debt funds: Polish CVI and UK-based Beechbrook. Both provide debt financing to companies. With this deal, PFR Ventures has broadened its PFR PE programme to include such funds.

At the beginning of 2022, PFR Ventures’ portfolio has expanded by adding two new private debt (PD) funds manged by: CVI and Beechbrook. This brings the number of private markets funds the Polish institutional investor has invested in to a total of 10. To date, these funds have provided nearly PLN 6 billion to almost 60 companies operating both on the Polish market and internationally.

So far, PFR Ventures has invested primarily in growth, buyout, and mezzanine funds (a hybrid of debt and equity financing). Investments in CVI and Beechbrook expand the investment mandate to private debt funds. PFR Ventures plans to invest in at least one more team with this profile.

Developing the local market

CVI is a team of seasoned investment experts and an absolute leader in the private debt market in CEE with experience in providing financing to companies in the region. Early in 2022, CVI’s latest fund addressed to institutional investors reached a capitalisation of €100 million. PFR Ventures has invested €12 million in the fund.

We are a leading private debt investor in the CEE region.By combining the team’s many years of experience with the best standards of the investment process, we were able to build an efficient platform for providing financing to the most interesting ventures. The new CVI fund, in which PFR Ventures has invested, will enable the implementation of further interesting projects while offering attractive rates of return to investors.

– says Rafał Lis, Managing Partner at CVI.

We are balancing our portfolio to make sure that PFR’s capital goes to the best management teams both in the region and globally. Our investments in local managers confirm their attractiveness in the eyes of foreign investors and facilitate raising capital from additional sources. This was also the case with CVI, which, thanks to our involvement, could secure additional funding from the European Investment Fund

– says Annemarie Dalka, Investment Director at PFR Ventures.

Exposure in top international funds

Beechbrook is a fund manager that has been in business for nearly 13 years and has invested in over 80 companies. The team is already running its fourth debt fund. PFR Ventures’ investment totalled €10 million and is linked to Beechbrook’s commitment to invest double this amount in Polish companies.

Our international activities have again drawn the attention of one of the best teams in Europe to the Polish market. Beechbrook will not only invest twice as much as our contribution in Polish companies, but will also expand its team by managers from our market. This means Poland will benefit not only from capital investments but also from know-how transfer and the best market practices

– says Michał Gładyś, Investment Director at PFR Ventures.

Beechbrook is delighted to partner with PFR Ventures for our fourth Pan European Private Debt Fund. We are committed to providing flexible financing for SMEs across northern Europe and are looking forward to expanding into Poland. The lower mid-market is an important component of each country’s eco-system and we will continue to play our part in helping fund growth

– says Paul Shea, Managing Partner at Beechbrook Capital. 

According to the information released in mid-2021, PFR Ventures set aside an additional PLN 0.5 billion for investments in Private Equity funds. Three investments have already been completed, with more planned for later this year.