Investment Associate Craft Capital

Are you a content driven investment professional, corporate finance professional or strategy consultant, who is at heart an entrepreneur and wants to join an ambitious and young PE firm?

Do you thrive in an environment characterized by teamwork, success and fun with ample room for entrepreneurship?

Short Description
Craft Capital is a successful and fast-growing private equity firm headquartered in Zeist. Due to the strong deal flow and rapid growth of the investment portfolio, they are looking to further expand their highly experienced and ambitious team with an investment associate (3 - 5 years of experience).

This investment professional should be a top performer with experience in private equity corporate finance, or strategy consulting and would have an entrepreneurial mind-set.

Company Profile
Craft Capital was founded in 2021 by Gerjhan Roerink and Pieter Leyssius. It has the Roerink family, who founded Zuivelhoeve and who sold Heks’nkaas, as its sole investor, however, operates with a common private equity fund structure (incl. carried).

The current team consists of five professionals: Founder and investor Gerjhan Roerink, two partners with excellent (international) track records in private equity, entrepreneurship and investment banking, one investment director (with investment banking and PE background) and an analyst.

The fund has already made 3 investments: Continental Shell Fish organization (CSO), the oldest mussel grower/harvester in the Netherlands, Vroom Funderingstechnieken, the largest expert in the delivery of complex foundation work, and the Cleanroom Combination Group (CCG, builder of cleanrooms for health, pharma and high tech sector).

Investment Criteria:
• Dutch (family-owned) companies characterized by superior levels of craftmanship and operating in niches where they outperform and enjoy high levels of customer satisfaction • EBITDA of at least €2m • Experienced and entrepreneurial management team • Significant opportunity for buy & build, international expansion and/or organic growth

Approach:
Craft Capital has an active approach in supporting entrepreneurs and managers with improving, building and growing their businesses into great companies: • Collaborative and pragmatic approach and focused on the long term • Following the investment in a company, working jointly with management in creating strategic and operational plans and providing the support necessary to realize these plans • Substantial experience in managing entrepreneurial succession and supporting companies in their international expansion and buy-and-build strategy

What makes Craft Capital a highly desired place to work?
• The partners have set a very ambitious growth schedule for the next 5 years with an aim be a leading Equity Fund within the lower end of the mid-market
• Exceptional Performance: They have already closed three deals (fourth in progress) and they are already outperforming
• Excellent investment team (experience, ambition, skills):
• Gerjhan Roerink (owner and founding partner): Highly successful entrepreneur with (previous) investments in Zuivelhoeve (owner) and Heks’nkaas (grew and exited)
• Pieter Leyssius (founding partner): Former banking professional with extensive (international) deal and management experience and Managing Partner of Gate Invest (Private Equity). Also Chairman of FC Utrecht
• Maurice van Veggel (partner): Former bulge bracket (London) investment banker (HSBC) and partner at Sofindev (Private Equity) with extensive M&A deal expertise
• Lars van Geuns (investment director): Private Equity at Maas Capital and investment banking experience at ABN AMRO
• Renske Zijm: Analyst and former intern at Craft Capital
• Supported by a high quality back-office team
• Culture: Ambitious, output driven, entrepreneurial, pragmatic. Professional but also room for fun. It is a vibrant culture where you get to play a role in shaping the team culture
• Growth: Currently 5 FTE, to be expanded with an associate, and with further investment team growth expected in ‘23 and beyond
• Career and responsibility: Ample room to pull responsibility towards you, with an accelerated career path to investment manager
• Shared upside: Immediate opportunity to participate in the carried of the Fund

Job Description
In the role of investment associate your primary focus will be to evaluate and support execution activities and support the management of the portfolio. In summary, but not limited to:

Deal-flow and execution
• Support deal origination (e.g., market and company research, networking)
• Evaluation of investment opportunities (e.g., financial modelling, valuation, structuring, commercial due diligence)
• Support deal due diligence and documentation (financial, legal, tax and operational) by managing individual workflows
• Support deal negotiations and arrangement of bank financing

Portfolio management
• Support portfolio management (e.g. financial reporting, KPI setting, strategy development, performance improvement projects, buy-and-build activities)
• Support preparation and execution of refinancing, add-ons and exits
• Periodic portfolio performance reviews, valuation and return calculations

Other
• Leadership: Support the investment director in developing interns/starters
• General marketing and operational activities
• Significant direct interaction with CEOs, CFOs and M&A and other advisors. Continued personal development opportunities in the direction of investment manager

Requirements
• Strong academic background: Master in a numerical discipline (Business, Finance, Econometrics, Engineering etc.). Strong grades will be a pre
• 3 - 5 years of work experience in private equity, corporate finance (M&A, leverage finance or transaction services) or strategy consulting (McKinsey, Bain, BCG…)
• Able to relatively independently execute some of the individual work streams on a deal, such as financial modelling, performing valuations, reviewing legal documentation, financial DD or commercial DD
• Self-starting, ability to work independently and take responsibility, ambitious and highly driven to succeed with high level of professional and commercial flair
• Ability to ‘connect’ with entrepreneurs and managers is a must
• Energetic, down-to-earth and fun to win with!
• Native Dutch and fluent in English

Triggered by this opportunity? Please contact Fishfin and let us elaborate on this unique place to work!
Michael Witts: 647304147, michael.witts@fishfin.nl