Investment Plan for Europe supports impact lending fund investing in a sustainable European economy

• The fund is part of Tikehau Capital’s private debt platform and will focus on corporate impact lending
• The European Investment Fund is one of the main investors, using resources from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.

Tikehau Capital, the alternative asset management and investment group has completed the first closing for its investment platform focused on impact lending, raising €105 million from the European Investment Fund, backed by the Investment Plan for Europe, an anchor investor alongside other key institutional investors.

Tikehau Capital intends to contribute to a sustainable European economy while providing investors with competitive returns by investing primarily in European SMEs which contribute to the sustainable economic transition in Europe through their offering, their resource management, or their processes.

The EIF-participation in the fund is made possible thanks to the support of the Investment Plan for Europe of the European Commission and is expected to facilitate the fundraising from other institutional investors, helping it to reach a target size of €350 million to €400 million.

In the midst of a pandemic radically transforming our economies and societies, this successful fundraising highlights the relevance of Tikehau Capital’s impact strategy. Its innovative and unique approach based on the identification of bespoke impact metrics rewards companies with a reduced interest rate if they meet their agreed impact targets. The fund aims at contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals relating to climate action, innovative growth, and social inclusion, which are priorities to move forward in the sustainable economic transition in Europe. The economic crisis caused by Covid-19 has made the need to urgently address these issues even more crucial.

Through an investment in Tikehau Impact Lending Fund, EIF aims at supporting Tikehau Capital’s first impact fund in the private debt space, helping companies to move towards more sustainable operations from a climate, innovation and social inclusion perspective and encouraging companies to positively contribute to at least two out of five targeted Social Development Goals as defined by the United Nations on an individual and tailor-made basis.

EIF seeks to support Tikehau Capital to foster more private capital towards the lower end of the market and create a catalytic effect in attracting new investors looking for investment opportunities for their Social Development Goals allocations.

Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said: “I am glad that with support from the Investment Plan for Europe, the EIF will invest in the Tikehau Impact Lending fund, which focuses on creating a more inclusive and sustainable economy. The Fund will make available new financing for European SMEs and contribute to promoting climate action, innovative growth and social inclusion – important values that are at the heart of our European economy as well.”

EIF Chief Executive Alain Godard declared: “Through its Diversified debt funds division, EIF seeks to support alternative managers to foster more private capital towards the lower end of the market, with bespoke financing solutions. Our cooperation with Tikehau Capital with the support of EFSI – demonstrates Europe’s strong commitment to Social Development, in the broader context of the EU’s green transition.”

Nathalie Bleunven, Head of Corporate Lending at Tikehau Capital stated: “We are thrilled to have the European Investment Fund at our side with a significant contribution to the fund. Our priority is to generate a positive social and environmental impact in addition to a financial return. The EIF’s investment will be an important factor in ensuring the success of our impact lending fund. With respect to our strategy to align our interests with those of our investor partners, we have also committed our own balance sheet. I also would like to thank the other institutional investors for their commitment in the fund and for the trust they have placed in us”.

Background information:

About the Investment Plan for Europe

The Investment Plan for Europe, is one of the European Commission’s top priorities. It focuses on boosting investments to create jobs and growth by making smarter use of new and existing financial resources, removing obstacles to investment and providing visibility and technical assistance to investment projects. The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. It provides a first loss guarantee, allowing the EIB Group to invest in more, often riskier, projects. The projects and agreements approved for financing under the EFSI so far are expected to mobilise almost EUR 546.5 billion in investments and support more than 1.4 million start-ups and SMEs across all 27 Member States.

About the EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment.

About Tikehau Capital

Tikehau Capital is an asset management and investment group with €27.2 billion of assets under management (at 30 September 2020) and shareholders’ equity of €2.8 billion (at 30 June 2020). The Group invests in various asset classes (private debt, real estate, private equity and capital markets strategies), including through its asset management subsidiaries, on behalf of institutional and private investors. Controlled by its managers and working alongside leading institutional partners, Tikehau Capital employs more than 570 people (at 30 June 2020) in its Paris, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, New York, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo offices. Tikehau Capital is listed on Euronext’s regulated market in Paris, Compartment A (ISIN: FR0013230612; ticker: TKO.FP)