Innesto Partners Strengthens Position as Leader in European Search Fund Investing for SMEs

Innesto Partners, a search fund investor active across Europe and North America, strengthens its Senior Advisory Committee.

Innesto Partners strengthens its Senior Advisory Committee to accelerate its international development

Innesto Partners, a search fund investor active across Europe and North America, strengthens its Senior Advisory Committee with the appointment of three new Senior Advisors across France, the DACH region and Italy, and the addition of an Operating Partner dedicated to the healthcare sector. This evolution aligns with Innesto Partners’ long-term development strategy to deepen its local presence across key European markets and further solidifies its position as a leading European search fund investor.

Founded in 2021 by Joachim de Belgique and Felipe Corcuera, and later joined by Luisa de Belgique, Innesto Partners supports search fund entrepreneurs in identifying, acquiring and developing SMEs over the long term as they navigate succession and ownership transfer challenges. The platform is built on the search fund model, which enables an entrepreneur to be financed in order to identify, acquire and run a company while becoming a significant long-term shareholder.

Innesto Partners has established itself as a pioneer of search fund investing in Europe. As early as 2019, Felipe Corcuera led the first-ever search fund transactions in France, Italy, Portugal and Poland. Innesto Partners also backed the first-ever search fund in the Netherlands, as well as the first-ever Norwegian search fund, actively contributing to the structuring of this still-emerging asset class in Europe.

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Strengthening the Senior Advisory Committee

Against this backdrop, Innesto Partners is strengthening its governance and strategic support framework by adding senior profiles with deep experience and networks in their respective markets:

• Olivier Bazil (France), former executive at Legrand, brings recognized expertise in industrial strategy, international expansion and financial discipline. He supported the group’s growth, contributing to its transformation from an SME into a global industrial group listed on the CAC 40.
• Jürgen Diegruber (DACH), former executive at Partners Group and founder of GermanCapital, brings deep expertise in investing in family-owned and mid-sized companies in Europe. He also personally searched for, acquired, managed and grew SMEs, acting as a searcher-entrepreneur before the search fund model was formally established.
• Lorenzo Salieri (Italy), former Head of 3i Italy and Senior Advisor at Cobepa, is recognized for his experience in buyout transactions, governance and value creation.
• These new members join Gérard Lamarche (BeNeLux), Philippe Haspeslagh (BeNeLux) and Angeles Garcia Poveda (Spain) on the Senior Advisory Committee.

In addition, Philippe Monteyne, MD, PhD, joins Innesto Partners as an Operating Partner, with a specific focus on the healthcare sector. A former executive at GSK and Sanofi and ex-Senior Partner at Fund+, Partner at Aliath Bioventures and Senior Advisor at AltamarCam Partners, he brings strong expertise in innovation, R&D and life sciences investing.

Complementing its Senior Advisors, Innesto is developing a strong Operating Partner network. These partners will join the boards of portfolio companies, contributing hands-on technical, managerial and market expertise tailored to each business and geography, thereby strengthening support for its search fund entrepreneurs.

A proven and rapidly expanding model

Originally developed in North America, the search fund model now comprises more than 1,000 search funds worldwide, including 681+ in North America and approximately 320 outside North America. Still at an early stage of structuring in Europe, the model offers, according to Innesto Partners, attractive potential amid an aging population of SME owners and a shortage of suitable succession solutions.

“The search fund model is particularly powerful in aligning entrepreneurs, investors and businesses over the long term. Our ambition is to contribute sustainably to its development in Europe by combining investment discipline, strong governance and hands-on operational support,” says Joachim de Belgique, co-founder of Innesto Partners.

With this strengthened governance, Innesto Partners reaffirms and strengthens its ambition to be a leading European player in search fund investing.

A structurally attractive segment
Europe has more than 30 million SMEs, a significant proportion of which are owned by founders approaching retirement age. Nearly 80% of them — often part of the baby boom generation — have no clear succession plan. This demographic shift, frequently referred to as the “silver tsunami,” is creating a large pool of opportunities that remains largely underexploited by traditional private equity strategies.

Innesto Partners positions itself in this segment through the search fund model, in which an entrepreneur is financed to identify, acquire and lead a company, while becoming a meaningful long-term shareholder.

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