MS+PARTNERS

We are thrilled to announce that we are investing into ILERNA FP, the market leading provider of vocational education in Spain, alongside Jacobs Holding AG and ILERNA FP’s co-founders Jordi Giné and Virginia Agelet, acquiring the company from IK Partners. This marks the first investment from our growth private equity fund launched in 2024, fully aligned with Mustard Seed + Partners’ strategy to invest in leading European businesses addressing the world’s biggest environmental and social challenges. As a provider of vocational education, ILERNA FP helps narrow the skills gap in Spain, promotes equal and affordable access to education, and significantly increases student’s employability, directly contributing toward SDG #4 (Quality Education) and SDG #8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). Leveraging our experience in the sector, we will join the board of the company to support ILERNA FP in building on its leading position, helping it to expand its innovative education and making its qualifications accessible to an even broader range of students. Founded in Lleida, Catalonia, in 2014, ILERNA FP is a leading player in the Spanish vocational education space with over 46,000 students. The organization offers a wide range of online courses designed to meet the evolving needs of both students and employers. ILERNA has been a subsidiary of the French Skill and You Group since 2019, acquired by IK Partners in 2021. Spain’s vocational education market has expanded significantly in recent years, driven by demand for training and professional qualifications to tackle unemployment and the skills gap, especially among younger people. Re-skilling and professional education are major policy priorities, benefiting both graduates lacking technical qualifications and non-graduates seeking clearer employment pathways. ILERNA FP’s courses support learners at every stage, helping them enhance their job and career prospects. Thank you to our partners Jacobs Holding AG (Timothy Franks, Justin Lewis-Oakes, Carlos Gabriel y Galán) for their trust, to IK Partners (Remi Buttiaux, Diki KORNILOFF) and to the advisors on the transaction Rothschild & Co (Pierre Sader, Manuel Menduiña Buendia), Clifford Chance (Samir Azzouzi Maanan, Íñigo Navarrete) and Marlborough Partners (Benjamin Weyl, Jose Tomas Gonzalez de Canales).

At Mustard Seed + Partners, our mission is to build Europe's market leading Impact investing platform. With dedicated strategies across Venture and Growth Private Equity, we are focused on investing in European champions with a sustainability purpose to scale solutions that address the world’s largest environmental and social challenges. With over 60+ companies invested across our Venture portfolios, we are delighted to announce that four of our companies have been listed in Sifted's Top 250 fastest growing start-ups for 2024. Many congratulations to all who have actively contributed to the on-going success at Switchee, tiney, Olio • Share More, Waste Less, and knokcare. To hear more on how our European Champions have succeeded scaling start-ups through to steady, high growth businesses, read Tessa Clarke's, CEO of Olio • Share More, Waste Less, latest article in Sifted on lessons learned successfully navigating the journey from Founder to CEO: https://lnkd.in/dYmFikxk

Our Advisory Board member Nick O'Donohoe, CEO of British International Investments, shared valuable insights on the impact investing sector evolution over the last decade with Impact-Investor.com. As an impact pioneer, back in 2010, Nick had foreseen a "potential investment opportunity across Impact of $400bn - $1tn by 2020". However, his estimates ended up being way too conservative, with the latest figures suggesting a "$715bn - $2.1tn market size in 2020" for Impact investing according to GIIN and IFC. According to McKinsey & Co in their Global Private Markets Review - 2023, "private equity deal volume in global climate tech investments alone [...] set a record of nearly $200 billion [in 2023]". We have witnessed first hand the emergence of the Impact asset class, which we see as a multi-generation paradigm shift, departing from short term profit optimisation towards a longer term investment lens, and taking stewardship seriously. It is good news for people and the planet, and we are proud to play a small part in this journey. High Growth, Global Impact. #highgrowthglobalimpact #impactinvesting #growthimpact #article9 #SFDR #growthequity #privateequity #responsibleinvesting #sustainableinvesting #BCorp #Europeanimpact #environmentalsustainability #climateinvesting Henry Wigan, Stanislas de Joussineau, Alex Pitt, Ben Alves Walters, Tobias Reimann-Dubbers

LATEST UPDATE: We are delighted to announce that Tobias Reimann-Dubbers has joined Mustard Seed + Partners as an Investment Associate into our Growth division! Tobias "re-joins" MS+ having previously worked for 2 years within the Growth & Strategy team at Collectiv Food | Certified B Corp (a MS+ portfolio company). Most recently, Tobias interned at Eurazeo within their Venture team, based in London. At MS+ we continue to build a bench of best-in-class talent, hiring individuals who deeply align with our mission of backing European champions addressing the world’s largest environmental and social sustainability challenges. High growth, global impact. We are just getting started! #highgrowthglobalimpact #impactinvesting #growthimpact #article9 #SFDR #growthequity #privateequity #responsibleinvesting #sustainableinvesting #BCorp #Europeanimpact #environmentalsustainability #climateinvesting

Mustard Seed + Partners is delighted to announce that we have become a signatory of the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI). As one of Europe's first pioneers to launch a dedicated Impact Investment firm, we are proud to partner with industry leading initiatives and affiliations. The UN PRIs strongly align with our own mission statement and investment approach, backing European champions with a sustainability purpose to scale solutions that address the world’s largest environmental and social challenges. High growth, global impact. https://lnkd.in/eXib3NR6 #impactinvesting #impact #sustainability #sustainableimpactinvesting #europeanimpact #unpri #principlesforresponsibleinvestment #environmentalsustainability #growthequity #growthimpact #climate #climatesolutions

It was excellent to have one of our Managing Partners, Alex Pitt, participate in Pictet Group's new interview series, "Independent Minds" - asking Entrepreneurs and Founders thought-provoking questions on leadership and overall management challenges/obstacles. #highgrowthglobalimpact #impactinvesting #growthequity #environmentalsustainbility #mustardseedpartners

We are proud to back Brett Wigdortz OBE and the amazing team at tiney to support their mission to solve the childcare crisis in the UK! Solving the childcare crisis will have huge benefits for the next generation, as well as the wider economy. We believe that tiney is already demonstrating the impact that cutting-edge technology combined with a passion to improve early years can have. They are single-handedly driving up childminder numbers across England and attracting a whole new cohort of talent into the early years space. We’re looking forward to partnering with them as they continue to scale. #edtech #highgrowthglobalimpact #impactinvesting #growthequity #responsibleinvesting #Article9 #SFDR #bcorp

We are excited to announce that Ben Alves Walters has joined Mustard Seed + Partners as Investment Principal! Ben brings deep private equity experience to our team. At Mustard Seed + Partners we are committed to working with the best talent across the industry to back exceptional companies building solutions to the world's largest environmental and social challenges. High growth, global impact. We are just getting started! #highgrowthglobalimpact #impactinvesting #impactgrowth #growthequity #privateequity #SFDR #Article9 #responsibleinvesting #bcorp