Ambienta IV

Private Equity Manager (GP)

Case study

About the manager

Ambienta is a European private equity manager focused on investing in sustainability-driven businesses. The manager was founded in 2007 and has offices in Milan, London, Paris and Munich. Pantheon has a long-standing relationship with Ambienta and holds three advisory board seats with the manager. PIP has previously co-invested alongside Ambienta in SF Filter, a distributor of mobile and industrial filters for after-market applications.

ESG credentials

In 2020, Ambienta obtained Carbon Neutral certification for its commitment to Net Zero.

Ambienta IV is classified as Article 9 under SFDR1, meaning the fund has sustainable investment as its objective.

The United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment has awarded Ambienta their top rating every year since 2017.

Ambienta is committed to diversity and inclusion with 52% of hires in 2021 being female.

Ambienta’s “ESG in Action” programme monitors portfolio company progress against a range of ESG key performance indicators.

The manager is an active member of Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, a global investor body which focuses on climate change.

Ambienta is a member of the Invest Europe Responsible Investment Roundtable.

Investment approach

Ambienta believes that sustainability is a mega-trend affecting all sectors in their own different ways. Ambienta IV will continue its investment strategy of targeting small- and medium-sized businesses in Europe whose products aid pollution control and resource efficiency in their respective sectors. The businesses will have scalable and profitable business models, growing international end-markets and differentiated market positions.

The manager typically looks for fast-growing businesses that lack the necessary capital, infrastructure or expertise, to sustain the next phase of growth. Ambienta aims to create value at the portfolio company level by focusing on:

• Strengthening the organisation through the implementation of stronger internal structures and processes;
• Identifying strategic and operational levers to enhance margins and long-term growth;
• Using buy & build strategies to consolidate a fragmented market;
• Growing the company’s geographical footprint; and
• Using ESG as a value creation tool.

The development of a dedicated Sustainability & Strategy function, whose role is to understand the ways in which resource efficiency and pollution control shape industries, enables the manager to screen and select the very best investment opportunities. The function, which comprises eight full-time employees, has provided Ambienta with a large bank of knowledge and expertise, and is an integral part of their investment process.

Ambienta’s unique approach to investing in businesses driven by sustainability has demonstrated that top decile financial returns can be combined with a measurable and favourable environmental impact.

Maiden investment from Ambienta IV

Ambienta recently completed its first investment from Ambienta IV into Previero, a designer and manufacturer of plastic recycling solutions. The business is set to play a key role in the transition towards the recycling of plastic; currently just 15% of plastic waste generated worldwide is recycled, due to a lack of infrastructure, while this is expected to need to double to meet corporate commitments and regulations.

Ambienta will support value creation opportunities in Previero through the provision of financial and managerial resources, as well as increased investment in both fixed and human capital.