Swemac Innovation AB (“Swemac”), a developer of innovative solutions for fracture treatment and joint replacement with a focus on hips and upper extremities, welcomes Priveq Investment (“Priveq”) as new minority owner to support the company in its accelerated growth strategy. The Hansson family will continue as majority owners in the company.
Swemac was founded in 1985 as a spin-off from Saab Combitech, from which the Hansson family acquired the medical implant division in 1997. Since the foundation, Swemac has grown within a unique and innovative environment, where new products continuously have been developed. Swemac has exhibited strong growth and profitability historically, and by partnering with Priveq the intention is to accelerate growth even further.
Today Swemac has an extensive product portfolio that are protected by several patents. The products are marketed in Scandinavia and Japan as well as numerous international markets. The group currently has approximately 80 employees with its head office in Linköping and a turnover of around SEK 240m.
“We are highly impressed of Swemac’s innovative spirit and commitment to deliver qualitative products that add value to clients and health care professionals. Swemac’s position is a strong foundation for continued expansion and we are looking forward to be working with the owners and management on this journey going forward”, says Senai Ayob, Partner and Investment manager at Priveq.
“Over the years, Swemac has developed into a strong and broad supplier of products and services to the orthopaedic sector. Our product portfolio is highly innovative and with Priveq as a partner, we will be able to accelerate our growth further, both in terms of new product launches but also in terms of entering new markets. The experience and competence found in Priveq appeals to me“, says Martin Sjögren, CEO at Swemac.
Martin Sjögren, CEO Swemac Innovation AB
+46 70 915 16 95
martin.sjogren@swemac.com
About Swemac We strive continuously to provide the market with innovative and practical solutions for fracture treatment and joint replacement to benefit patients and health care professionals. Swemac has evolved over the years within a highly innovative environment where quality has always been critical to development and production. This strong tradition of innovation and high quality remains a core characteristic and guiding compass for Swemac today. The products are currently sold via Swemac’s own sales organization in Scandinavia and through distributors on international markets. Also 3rd party brands within trauma treatment and medical imaging are distributed by Swemac in Scandinavia. The company is headquartered in Linköping and has ca 80 employees.
MADRID – January 20, 2021 – H.I.G. Capital, (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with over €35 billion of equity capital under management, and the Royo family have entered into an agreement to sell the bathroom furniture division of RG International Bathroom (“RGIB or the “Company”) to Roca Sanitario, S.A. The Royo family will retain a minority stake in the division. Both H.I.G. and the Royo family will continue as shareholders of the shower tray business of RGIB, operating under the Fiora brand.
H.I.G. partnered with the Royo family in December 2016 and has achieved a number of important milestones, including:
Developing a new factory and brand in Poland (Maximus) that contributed to strengthening the leading position that RGIB already had in the Polish market under the Elita brand
Entering new segments, channels and countries; one of the most relevant achievements was the entry into the DIY channel in Germany where RGIB is now a leading player
Consolidating RGIB’s leading position in Spain and France, where the group has grown its distribution network to more than 5,000 points of sale
Launching Amizuva, an exclusive brand that targets the online channel
Increasing RGIB´s revenues by over 50%
The Royo family and H.I.G. will retain ownership of Fiora and will continue to strengthen the Company’s innovation, design and product development capabilities in order to consolidate Flora’s leading position in the European premium shower trays segment. The shareholders will also focus on further expanding Fiora’s international footprint beyond the 30 countries where it is currently present through its widespread distribution network and its customer service team.
Raul Royo, CEO of RGIB, stated: “We would like to thank H.I.G.for their support over the past four years, which has allowed us to strengthen our leading position in Europe. The agreement with Roca, a global leader in the bathroom sector, will help us enhance our state-of-the-art business, with almost 150 years of combined experience in the sector between the two families.”
Jaime Bergel, Managing Director of H.I.G. Spain commented: “We are very pleased with the success of this investment, which proves our capabilities in the Spanish market. Together with the Royo family, we have positioned RGIB as one of the leading companies in the bathroom sector in Europe, and we will continue supporting Fiora to consolidate its leadership in the European market.”
The deal is subject to approval by antitrust authorities in some European markets.
About RGIB RG International Bathroom, founded more than 45 years ago by Pascual Royo, is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of bathroom products, mainly focused on furniture and resin shower trays. The group has factories in Valencia, Nájera and Poland and operates on five continents under the brands Royo, Elita, Maximus and Fiora. RGIB has an annual turnover of more than €110 million and employs more than 1,000 professionals.
About Roca Group Roca Sanitario is dedicated to the design, production and marketing of bathroom products, as well as ceramic floor and wall tiles for architecture, construction and interior design. The family-owned Spanish group is the market leader in Europe, Latin America, India and Russia. It also has a strong presence in China and the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa. It is the international leader in the field.
About H.I.G. Capital H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with over €35 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Bogotá, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:
H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of €27 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.
* Based on total commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.
Cambridge (United Kingdom) and Utrecht (the Netherlands) – Acacia Pharma Group plc (EURONEXT: ACPH), a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel products to improve the care of patients undergoing serious medical treatments such as surgery, invasive procedures, or chemotherapy, announces that it has been awarded BEL Small Company of the Year 2020 by Euronext Brussels at its annual New Year’s Ceremony held virtually last night. This is the second consecutive year that Acacia Pharma has won this award.
“We are delighted to be recognized again with this award. 2020 has been a very successful year for Acacia Pharma, having gained approval for two new products in the US: BARHEMSYS®, a new antiemetic for surgical patients to treat post-operative nausea & vomiting, and BYFAVO™, a rapid acting and reversible sedative for patients requiring moderate sedation to undergo short medical procedures. We launched BARHEMSYS in August and are in the very final stages of the launch process for BYFAVO, which we expect to complete imminently,” commented Mike Bolinder, CEO of Acacia Pharma.
Mr. Bolinder added: “Looking to the future, our strategy is to drive the sales of both products in the US through our own organization and we believe we are well positioned for success. This potential success has been recognized in the recent initiation of coverage of the company by the healthcare analysts at Jefferies, who included Acacia Pharma as one of their top European biopharma/biotech investment ideas for 2021. We are pleased with the progress we have been able to make during the last year, especially given the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic during the same period.”
The annual New Year’s Ceremony recognizes the best performing companies on Euronext Brussels. The BEL Small Company of the Year is awarded to a company that has demonstrated the highest relative increase in market capitalization, within the BEL Small index in 2020. The award was announced by the CEO of Euronext Brussels, Vincent Van Dessel, in the presence of Vincent Van Peteghem, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
—
Contacts
Acacia Pharma Group plc
Mike Bolinder, CEO
Gary Gemignani, CFO
+44 1223 919760 / +1 317 505 1280 IR@acaciapharma.com
Acacia Pharma is a hospital pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new products aimed at improving the care of patients undergoing significant treatments such as surgery, other invasive procedures, or cancer chemotherapy. The Company has identified important and commercially attractive unmet needs in these areas that its product portfolio aims to address.
Acacia Pharma’s first product, BARHEMSYS® (amisulpride injection) is available in the US for the management of postoperative nausea & vomiting (PONV).
BYFAVO™ (remimazolam) for injection, a very rapid onset/offset IV benzodiazepine sedative is approved in the US for use during invasive medical procedures in adults lasting 30 minutes or less, such as colonoscopy and bronchoscopy. BYFAVO is in-licensed from Paion UK Limited for the US market.
APD403 (intravenous and oral amisulpride), a selective dopamine antagonist for chemotherapy induced nausea & vomiting (CINV) has successfully completed one proof-of-concept and one Phase 2 dose-ranging study in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.
Acacia Pharma has its US headquarters in Indianapolis, IN and its R&D operations are centred in Cambridge, UK. The Company is listed on the Euronext Brussels exchange under the ISIN code GB00BYWF9Y76 and ticker symbol ACPH. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.acaciapharma.com.
About Gilde Healthcare
Gilde Healthcare is a specialized healthcare investor managing over $1.5 billion across two fund strategies: Venture & Growth and Private Equity.
Gilde Healthcare Venture & Growth invests in fast growing companies active in digital health, MedTech and therapeutics. The Venture & Growth companies are based in Europe and North America.
Gilde Healthcare Private Equity participates in profitable European lower mid-market healthcare companies with a prime focus on the Benelux and DACH region. The Private Equity fund targets healthcare providers, suppliers of medical products and service providers in the healthcare market.
This announcement includes forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations and projections about future events. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “will”, “should”, “could” and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company and its subsidiaries and investments, including, among other things, the development of its business, trends in its operating industry, and future capital expenditures and acquisitions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. Any forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Group’s business, results of operations, financial position, prospects, growth or strategies and the industry in which it operates. Save as required by law or applicable regulation, the Company and its affiliates expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.
On Monday, February 8 2021, Ratos will publish the Year-End report for 2020. The report will be published at approximately 07.00 CET. The date has been changed from the previously communicated date, February 11, as a result of the date for the 2021 Annual General Meeting being brought forward to March 10, 2021.
At 09.00 CET on February 8, a telephone conference will be held, participant connection: UK: +44 333 300 9031, SE: +46 8 505 583 50, US: +1 833 526 83 47. The telephone conference will be webcasted live at www.ratos.com where presentation material will be available as soon as the report is released.
The telephone conference will be recorded and available at www.ratos.com.
For further information, please contact:
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR- and Press, +46 70 868 40 50, helene.gustafsson@ratos.com
About Ratos: Ratos is a business group consisting of 11 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer & Technology and Industry. In total, the companies have SEK 34 billion in sales and EBITA of SEK 1.3 billion. Our business concept is to develop mid-sized companies headquartered in the Nordics that are or can become market leaders. We enable independent mid-sized companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas for Ratos. Everything we do is based on Ratos’s core values: Simplicity, Speed in Execution and It’s All About People.
Toronto, January 20, 2021 – Onex Corporation (TSX: ONEX) will release its results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2020 on February 26, 2021. A live broadcast of Onex’ webcast to discuss the results will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET on February 26, 2021.
A link to the live webcast and the 90-day on-line replay will be available at www.onex.com/events-and-presentations.
About Onex
Founded in 1984, Onex invests and manages capital on behalf of its shareholders, institutional investors and high net worth clients from around the world. Onex’ platforms include: Onex Partners, private equity funds focused on larger opportunities in North America and Europe; ONCAP, private equity funds focused on middle market and smaller opportunities in North America; Onex Credit, which manages primarily non-investment grade debt through collateralized loan obligations, senior loan strategies and other private credit strategies; and Gluskin Sheff’s wealth management services including its actively managed public equity and public credit funds. In total, as of September 30, 2020, Onex has approximately $36.6 billion of assets under management, of which approximately $6.7 billion is its own shareholder capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms.
The Onex Partners and ONCAP businesses have assets of $36 billion, generate annual revenues of $22 billion and employ approximately 149,000 people worldwide. Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX. For more information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com. Onex’ security filings can also be accessed at www.sedar.com.
For further information:
Jill Homenuk
Managing Director, Shareholder Relations and Communications
Tel: +1 416.362.7711
Montagu to acquire majority position in ITRS Group from TA Associates
Montagu, today announces it has agreed to acquire a majority position in ITRS Group (“ITRS”), a leading global provider of real-time monitoring and analytics software from TA Associates (“TA”), who will remain a minority holder alongside Montagu and Management. Completion is expected next month, subject to customary closing requirements. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ITRS’ software portfolio supports the “always on” enterprise, ensuring operational resilience for businesses operating in environments where technology failure means business failure. Headquartered in London, the company has established itself as an innovative and trusted partner, and today has over 3,000 clients across the globe, including nine out of the ten Tier 1 investment banks. In addition, its recent acquisition of Uptrends, a Netherlands-based website and web performance monitoring solution, has further strengthened ITRS’ product suite.
Since its establishment in 1997, ITRS has transformed from a European, single product solution to the capital markets industry, to today providing a comprehensive product suite to customers across a range of industries, including capital markets, telecommunications and healthcare. This has been achieved through impressive organic growth and M&A activity, and Montagu intends to work with the management team and leverage its experience, network and resources to continue to drive growth and further expansion.
Guy Warren, CEO of ITRS, said: “We are delighted to welcome Montagu into ITRS Group. Under TA Associates’ ownership, we have broadened our product suite and significantly expanded our customer base, and we thank them for their continued support. The Montagu team have shown a strong understanding of our business and its potential, and share our ambitions, and we are excited to partner with them for the next stage of growth.”
Christoph Leitner-Dietmaier, Director at Montagu, said: “It is a privilege for Montagu to back Guy and his leadership team, and we look forward to partnering with TA on this investment in ITRS. We are truly impressed by the leading position ITRS has established and are excited to support their vision of becoming the single pane of glass for IT monitoring for the enterprise customer.”
Morgan Seigler, Managing Director at TA, said: “We have greatly enjoyed partnering with Guy and the entire team at ITRS over the last four years to help drive the company’s growth and expansion. We look forward to collaborating with the ITRS team and Montagu to continue this successful journey.”
The sellers were advised by Jefferies International and Travers Smith LLP. Montagu was advised by Arma Partners and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Kinnevik AB (publ) (“Kinnevik”) today announced that the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Henrik Poulsen, has informed the Nomination Committee that he will not be available for re-election at the Annual General Meeting in 2021.
The Chairman of the Nomination Committee, Anders Oscarsson, commented:
“On behalf of the shareholders I would like to thank Henrik for his dedicated work in the Kinnevik board. The nomination committee looks forward to presenting its full proposal of the new board well ahead of the Annual General Meeting.”
Kinnevik is an industry focused investment company with an entrepreneurial spirit. Our purpose is to make people’s lives better by providing more and better choice. In partnership with talented founders and management teams we build challenger businesses that use disruptive technology to address material, everyday consumer needs. As active owners, we believe in delivering both shareholder and social value by building long-term sustainable businesses that contribute positively to society. We invest in Europe, with a focus on the Nordics, the US, and selectively in other markets. Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families. Kinnevik’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B.
Catherine Dunand brings her expertise in healthcare technological innovation to support Diabeloop’s growth and international development. Diabeloop announced today the appointment of Catherine Dunand as Chairman of the Board of Directors, succeeding Dr Guillaume Charpentier. Dr. Guillaume Charpentier, co-founder and Chief
_________________________________
Medical Officer of Diabeloop, remains on the Board of Directors. Catherine Dunand, President of Cemag Invest, is a graduate of Ecole Centrale de Lyon, holds an MBA from INSEAD and received a certificate from the non-executive director program of Sciences Po. She sits on the boards of several innovative companies including Advicenne, Altavia, Fabernovel and Wandercraft. She has been a member of the board of Diabeloop since the end of 2019, where she supported the 31-million Euro Series B funding round.
Dr. Guillaume Charpentier said: “Five years ago, I founded Diabeloop with a dream, the creation of an artificial pancreas.This dream has now become a reality, with the registration of two Automated Insulin Delivery solutions in Europe, and the signing of several significant commercial partnerships. Diabeloop progressed incredibly quickly. It is now important for the company to successfully launch these products to get them into the hands of patients. Erik Huneker and Marc Julien, co-CEOs, have put together a superb team to carry out this mission. I am pleased that Catherine Dunand has agreed to succeed me as Chairman of the Board. She will be able to lead the company in its growth and bring her commercial experience and financial acumen, as well as a real empathy for patients and public health. I will remain on the board, and I will ensure that Diabeloop’s values are preserved; we still have a lot of work to do”.
Catherine Dunand, Chairman of the Board, added: “Diabeloop is one of Europe’s finest gems in the medical technology sector. A leader of innovation in artificial intelligence for the treatment of diabetes, Diabeloop’s mission is to improve patients’ quality of life. In terms of technology, regulatory and market access, the company has experienced extremely rapid success, particularly internationally, thanks to its exceptionally talented team. The recent partnership agreements with Roche and Terumo Corporation, launch of a subsidiary in Germany and opportunities in the United States mark a new era in the life of the company. I feel proud and honored to take on my new role and I’m fully aware of the responsibility that rests with me”.
Erik Huneker and Marc Julien, Diabeloop co-CEOs, concluded: “We would like to thank Dr. Guillaume Charpentier for his exceptional dedication and work over the years. The evolution of our governance with the appointment of Catherine Dunand comes at an exciting time for Diabeloop. Catherine’s expertise on financial, strategic and business development aspects will be of great help to us. We thank her for her involvement, and look forward to the rewarding challenges we’ll face together”.
__________________________________
Catherine Dunand biography
Catherine Dunand co-founded and continues to serve as President of Cemag Invest, an investment fund that is dedicated to acquiring minority stakes in technology-oriented healthcare companies, particularly in medtech and artificial intelligence. Since 2019, she has also served as President of an American foundation that supports womens’ health. Since 2004, Catherine Dunand has been a non-executive director for a number of private and public Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), mainly in the healthcare sector. She is in charge of two audit committees and is a member of two nomination and remuneration committees. She joined Diabeloop’s Board of Directors in 2019 after having led the Series B investment round. Catherine Dunand managed a consulting firm in strategy and governance for fast-growing SMEs/ETIs. She was also Managing Director of SMEs in the healthcare sector. Catherine Dunand spent over 15 years in several roles at major pharmaceutical companies, including as International Marketing Director of Roussel Uclaf and Managing Director of the German-speaking area of Servier. Catherine Dunand is a graduate of Ecole Centrale de Lyon, MBA INSEAD, and received a certificate from the non-executive director program of Sciences Po.
________________________
About Diabeloop
Diabeloop’s mission: to relieve people living with Type 1 diabetes from dozens of therapeutic decisions and reduce their heavy mental burden. Initially conceived from a medical research project, Diabeloop was created in 2015 by Dr. Guillaume Charpentier, now Chief Medical Officer, and Erik Huneker who has co-managed the company with Marc Julien since 2016. This complementary management team works with experienced partners, CEA-Leti (a research laboratory) and CERITD (a French research team of diabetologists). In 2018, DBLG1 ® System, Diabeloop’s first medical device for automated diabetes management, obtained CE marking, followed by DBL-hu, its solution for highly unstable Type 1 diabetes management in 2020. A second round of financing of 31 million euros concluded in November 2019 to speed up the international commercial rollout of the DBLG1 iController and support an ambitious R&D program. The company is supported by several investors and industrial groups in the healthcare sector, including CERITD, Aliad, Cemag Invest, Sofimac Innovation, Supernova Invest, Kreaxi, Crédit Agricole, Odyssée Venture, Agiradom, as well as business angels. Today, Diabeloop gathers the personality, the passion and the skills of close to 100 talented individuals who work hard to improve the quality of life for every person living with Type 1 diabetes.
Amsterdam – January 19, 2021 – ChannelEngine, the marketplace integration platform for distributed e-commerce, enabling brands and retailers to manage and optimize their product listings and orders across online sales channels, announces €5 million in Series A funding led by INKEF Capital, with participation from existing investor Airbridge Equity Partners.
ChannelEngine is on a mission to bridge the gap between the backend systems of its customers and online sales channels such as Amazon, Zalando, Google, eBay and many more, on a global scale. The current need for new solutions in the market, combined with the rapid speed at which companies are moving to direct-to-consumer (D2C) marketplace sales, makes it the ideal time for companies to leverage ChannelEngine’s innovative e-commerce platform, to scale up faster and more efficiently.
Having more than tripled its revenue in 2020 with limited funding, ChannelEngine has raised this €5 million Series A round to accelerate its global rollout and continue the development of their product and channels. The funding round will be used to continue the rollout in Europe, and to expand into APAC, Russia, the Middle East as well as both North and South America. In addition, the company plans to hire 70 new employees worldwide in 2021 across various levels and roles.
Kyang Yung, Junior Partner at INKEF comments that“It goes without saying that the company has grown like a rocket ship off the back of COVID, although pre-COVID rates were already more than impressive. And, as brands across the globe are finally taking the leap to go direct-to-consumer, ChannelEngine’s customer roster now also boasts some pretty impressive global brands. For us, it was the interesting market position, the traction, and last but not least, the team’s deep domain knowledge of e-commerce which made us decide to make this strong, conviction-based investment.”
With e-commerce currently driving more than 18% of global retail, a number increasing rapidly since the dawn of the pandemic, and marketplaces generating more than 50% of this revenue, growing towards 75%, it is clear that the market is heading in one direction. With new marketplaces being launched globally, this shift further underlines the importance of connecting to, managing and integrating with a range of sales channels through one central platform. Trusted by global brands such as JBL, Bugaboo and Staples, amongst hundreds of others, ChannelEngine is ready to claim its position as a global market leader within the e-commerce marketplace space.
Jorrit Steinz, CEO & Founder of ChannelEngine adds,“On a global scale, e-commerce is becoming a driving force of all retail sales. Customers have shifted their search behavior for products from search engines to marketplaces. Large e-commerce players, as well as search engines, social media platforms and comparison sites are turning into marketplaces themselves. While this creates more sales opportunities for brands and retailers, they are faced with the challenge of managing all these different channels at the same time. That’s why we’ve built ChannelEngine, a powerful Software as a Service platform that enables Brands, Retailers and Distributors to connect, automate and manage their sales on all these international sales channels.”
About ChannelEngine
With a single powerful Software as a Service integration, ChannelEngine.com connects a sellers systems to international marketplaces and sales channels while optimizing sales, minimizing time, and maximizing profit and reach. It offers brands, distributors, and retailers automated order and return systems, an advanced management suite and rich partner ecosystem, to bring their sales to the next level.
ChannelEngine empowers companies by creating a seamless integration between businesses and marketplaces. Learn more: www.channelengine.com.
About InkefINKEF Capital is a leading venture capital firm based in Amsterdam with a proven history in backing promising early stage companies in Europe. INKEF takes pride in being a patient, long-term investor with the ability to support companies through several rounds of funding. From the early stages of being a technology or life science venture, INKEF Capital supports entrepreneurs building their ideas into successful international businesses. Learn more: www.inkef
Media Contact
Vanessa Stroet
PRLab
vanessa@prlab.co
Transforming insurance, a hundreds-year old industry
At Felix, our core thesis is that digital technologies are shaping consumer lifestyles, giving rise to a new generation of loved and trusted brands and platforms that offer a better customer experience (and the enabling software that helps companies do this). While these changes are deeply evident in the way we now discover and buy products (see Farfetch, Goop, Mejuri, HighSnobiety, etc.), eat (see Deliveroo, HungryPanda, Frichti etc.), travel and get around (see Heetch, Dott, VanMoof etc.), and improve wellness & fitness (see Peloton, Urban, Unmind etc.) it’s becoming increasingly obvious that consumers also want this from one of the most important parts of their life — their personal finances.
For the past few years, we’ve proactively started deep-diving into the consumer finance and insurance sectors, building our conviction in the opportunity to create a modern, better insurance brand and customer proposition. The market presents an exciting opportunity — large in size, a necessary purchase, dominated by legacy practices and almost entirely lacking in customer love. In fact, the industry has one of the lowest average Net Promoter Scores and customer churn has been growing.
However, it’s not an easy industry to disrupt, and transforming it requires founders that are passionate to change the standard ways of working, able to navigate the regulatory and operational complexity of the industry, and deliver product innovation and a truly better customer experience. We believe we have found such a company in France with Leocare, and are excited to share our investment as we lead their Series A!
Leocare, a team on a mission
Leocare’s founders Christophe and Noureddine started the company with the mission to provide “services to protect all the most important moments in your life” offering insurance for your car, home, smartphone, motorbike (and soon other areas too). They built a digital platform where consumers can easily buy, customise and manage their personal insurance — all from their mobile app. The founders have the ambition for Leocare to become a new type of insurance, not only providing comprehensive coverage but also superior service and ease of use, and over time providing preventative assistance and becoming a highly trusted brand.
We first met Christophe and Noureddine over a year ago and have been consistently impressed by their passion and focus (some would even say obsession) with creating a great customer experience and clear product vision. Despite — or perhaps because — neither of the founders come from an insurance background, they were able to tackle the problem with a fresh pair of eyes. Tired of the lengthy process they’ve experienced themselves in getting an accurate quote for insurance, and the “black box” nature of the pricing, they built one of easiest and more seamless customer experiences with 4 steps to a quote and a live, dynamic pricing calculator that shows potential customers exactly what goes into it. Customers can manage all their insurance policies from the same app and easily make changes or updates to their policies (for example, if they’ve moved to a new house, or had a baby, or to pause or cancel a policy) as well as purchase additional policies
Building customer love, through product & service obsession
Being mobile-first isn’t just a gimmick, but is actually one of the keys to Leocare creating a service that customers love. While most other insurance providers fervently hope customers never contact them, Leocare makes it as easy as possible for customers to get ongoing support, from providing thoughtful reminders and notifications in the app (for example, the company updated its customers on changing confinement rules in their location during the recent Coronavirus lockdowns), to personalised driving suggestions for car owners. Customers can also chat with customer support in the app and file claims digitally, without traditionally lengthy paperwork. As a result, instead of the industry standard of engaging with customers once a year, Leocare’s customers often interact with their insurer monthly, deepening their sense of loyalty.
And this approach of simplicity, transparency, flexibility (as the insurance is charged as a monthly subscription), and superior customer service is clearly resonating well with consumers! To date, the Leocare app has been downloaded 160k times and is trending on the French app store, growing 40% month over month and having now reached over 10,000 French households. Impressively, the company continues to earn its customer love and loyalty with increasing customers choosing to buy a second or even third policy line from Leocare.
Christophe and Noureddine won’t rest on their laurels though. They have an ambitious plan to continue improving and evolving their product and service. The roadmap includes exciting plans such as:
Developing a bot to automate and facilitate the management of claims, and keep Leocare customers informed in real-time of the processing of their claims, via push notifications and a dedicated timeline in the app
TakeCare — a brand new road safety service for car insurance customers
An in-app marketplace to connect customers with licensed and vetted professionals to help with home and car maintenance and repair
Where most insurers hardly know their customers at all, Leocare is building its brand on the trust of customers who love the service and winning that customer love by putting them first. We are thrilled to be partnering with the team today (alongside our friends at Ventech and Daphni) and look forward to the journey ahead!
