AUCTUS Report
AUCTUS ANNUAL REPORT 2024
Dear friends and business partners of AUCTUS,
We are excited to share our review of 2024 with you. This year has been marked by remarkable successes, strategic exits, and a strong team dynamic. Despite ongoing economic challenges – such as recession, domestic political issues in Germany, and geopolitical conflicts – we have managed to solidify and expand our market position while significantly increasing the value of our portfolio. The resilience of our portfolio companies and the dedication of our team have been crucial in enabling us to thrive even in turbulent times.
Strong Portfolio and Successful Expansions
In the past year, we successfully completed a total of 28 transactions, which have significantly advanced our existing platforms. Among these transactions are three new platforms that add to our range of sectors and open up exciting markets for us, including:
SPIG-GMAB – SPIG S.p.A. and GMAB (Götaverken Miljö AB) are leaders in industrial cooling and innovative flue gas treatment technologies. Their solutions are applicable in both renewable and thermal energy generation, including hydrogen production.
T&M Group – T & M Gesellschaft für Telefonmarketing mbH, based in Augsburg, is a leading provider of outsourced contact center services. With around 1,900 agents across Germany, Turkey, Bosnia, and Bulgaria, the group manages external customer communication for large SMEs and corporations.
gipser.ch Group – Our most recent Swiss platform gipser.ch Group is a market leader in plastering, painting, and facade work. Their network consists of over 300 employees who provide optimal solutions for every project through extensive expertise in new builds, renovations, and refurbishments. Notably, they offer innovative approaches to thermal insulation for residential buildings as well as exterior facade design.
Our Most Active Buy-and-Build Platforms
BUILTECH – With the acquisition of the Brion Group, Builtech has successfully entered the Nordic market. This expansion allows the group to tap into new markets and offer innovative solutions in technical building equipment. Through further acquisitions in DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) as well as organic growth, Builtech has surpassed the €500 million revenue mark.
GUSTOSO – The fast-casual restaurant group has accelerated its expansion with the acquisition of the rapidly growing pizza chain “60 Seconds to Napoli” and the Dutch tapas restaurants “’t Zusje.” This move not only strengthens our presence in Europe but also diversifies our culinary portfolio. Gustoso now operates 185 restaurants across Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
ORARA – Through several strategic acquisitions, Orara has expanded its services to include architecture, construction planning (electrical engineering, specialist fields), and project management at over 10 locations in Germany with 250 highly qualified professionals.
PANARIUM – Our bakery group had an outstanding year as well. In just four years since our investment, the number of locations has increased fivefold to 320 stores, making it one of the top five bakery groups in Germany with over 2,500 employees.
Record Year for Exits
The year 2024 marks the most successful exit year in the AUCTUS history. We achieved five outstanding exits and look forward to following the development of these rapidly growing companies as they continue their roles as market leaders:
Dataciders – Since our investment in 2019, the origin company Quinscape has quadrupled through targeted acquisitions and organic growth to become a leading Data & Analytics group with 550 specialists. With a new financial partner, the strong growth is now continuing on an international level.
Profiltubi – After a four-year investment phase, we sold our Italian portfolio company Profiltubi S.P.A., a significant player in the production and distribution of welded carbon steel tubes with consolidated revenues exceeding €100 million.
MAXI-PRESS – A supplier of spare parts and consumables for large laundries; after AUCTUS acquired a majority stake in 2018, MAXI-PRESS made several acquisitions—including one in Australia—becoming the world’s leading non-OEM supplier for laundries.
Fernao – Since our investment into Magellan under the brand name “Fernao,” a total of 16 acquisitions have been integrated into a leading IT security group within the German-speaking region with nearly 800 specialists. The exit of Fernao is one of the most successful in AUCTUS history.
Outlook for 2025
We are entering the new year with increased momentum supported by seven new colleagues who bring valuable expertise to our team.
While challenges will undoubtedly arise – particularly on political and economic fronts – we know that (post-)recession years present excellent opportunities for private equity. We are very bullish regarding new investments!
Your AUCTUS team
About Auctus
With over 420 investments in the last 23 years, AUCTUS is the most active investment company for European SMEs. Our investments focus on majority shareholdings in companies with annual sales of between EUR 10 million and EUR 150 million.
AUCTUS stands for sustainable organic growth, but also inorganic growth through acquisitions. We achieve this in a trusting partnership together with the management of our companies. We specialize in building successful medium-sized groups of companies - we make market leaders. The more than 35 experienced AUCTUS investment experts currently manage 50 platform investments from various sectors of the economy. The platform holdings, with a total of over 200 individual companies, generate annual sales of € 3 billion. Sales and earnings have been growing at >10% per year for years.
Our successful work is regularly rewarded with prestigious awards and top international rankings.
