Waterland’s investment strategy targets the next 12-18 months to support Irish companies scale internationally.
European private equity business Waterland has committed up to €100m to help Irish businesses scale over the next 12 to 18 months.
Launched in Ireland at the end of 2019, Waterland is an independent private equity group set up 23 years ago in Holland with over €9bn in assets under management. The group acts as an active shareholder in its portfolio companies, working in close partnership with management to drive their strategic development, performance and growth trajectory.
“It’s exciting to see the potential this investment commitment can deliver for Irish companies and their teams”
The €100m tranche is the latest stage of its overall plans to support Irish-headquartered companies to launch and expand their export channels in local and international markets.
Its Irish operation has become a key part of its overall strategy due to Ireland’s unique advantages in terms of geography, culture and its access to global networks across different sectors.
How Waterland flows
Over the past 23 years Waterland has invested in more than 800 companies – including more than 65 year-to-date in 2022.
With its background in entrepreneurial experience and expertise, Waterland helps established and ambitious businesses to dramatically accelerate their expansion plans. Waterland aims to support Irish businesses with significant investment to launch and scale on the European and international markets – while maintaining its headquarters in Ireland. It typically invests in successful companies making between €2.5m and €50m in EBITDA.
Since it opened its Ireland office in 2019, Waterland has seen an increasing number of companies looking for capital and expertise to support their future growth. In particular, it is interested in businesses connected with trends in Ageing Populations, Outsourcing and Digitization, Sustainability, and Leisure and Luxury.
“It’s exciting to see the potential this investment commitment can deliver for Irish companies and their teams,” said Waterland principal and managing director Laura Dillon.
“At Waterland, our fundamental model is about backing strong management teams to realise their full ambitions and reach their targeted goals. We’re looking forward to the next steps in our strategy as we pursue further opportunities to support the growing confidence and capabilities of Irish companies to launch and scale across wider markets into Europe and internationally.”
This latest news comes on the back of enhanced activity and announcements across its portfolio of companies in Ireland.
This includes Silver Stream Healthcare Group, one of the largest providers of residential care for older people in Ireland, increasing its number of nursing homes by four in the year to date. The newly developed homes are in Dundalk Co. Louth, Duleek Co. Meath and Riverstick Co. Cork, with the creation of up to 500 new jobs. It also includes the addition of Ballincurrig Care Centre in Co. Cork, and brings the total number of nursing homes within the Group to eleven.
In recent months, Waterland has also supported the Writech Group, a leading Westmeath-based fire-protection company which it partnered with in 2021, in progressing its expansion plan with the acquisition of Ce Sprinkler, a Swedish fire protection business and Compco Fire Systems, a UK provider of automatic fire suppression systems. These new partnerships increase the Writech team to more than 400 people, brings combined revenues to more than €70 million, secures its position as one of Europe’s largest fire protection companies, and expands the growth trajectory for the coming years.
And most recently, Waterland partnered with MTM Engineering, a Meath-based leader in turn-key cable installation and termination services. The company, which is headquartered in Slane, Co. Meath, currently employs over 400 people and has completed large scale industrial and renewable projects in Ireland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Austria and UK.
In 2021 MTM had total sales in excess of €40m, and this year the company is in the process of applying for planning permission to expand the capacity of its headquarters to facilitate the future growth of the company. The significant new investment will assist the company in its ambitious European growth strategy.
Main image: Adam Crinion, Investment Manager; Laura Dillon, Managing Director and Principal, and Donal Mac Nioclais, Investment Director, Waterland
