Investment Associate

Freshstream is a young and growing PE firm specializing in mid-market entrepreneur-led companies. The Investment Associate will help execute deals from A to Z and also be involved post-deal, e.g., as a board member. They will have frequent exposure to Freshstream’s leadership team and contribute actively to expanding the firm.

About Freshstream

Freshstream is a private equity buyout firm that supports ambitious entrepreneurs across the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium with capital and expertise to build successful, future-proof businesses. The company’s way of working is characterized by active collaboration with its portfolio management teams and extensive operational value creation. To accelerate the growth of its portfolio companies, Freshstream focuses on organic expansion as well as buy & build, and drives initiatives in, e.g., strategy, pricing, marketing, processes, systems, and organizational set-up.

Typically, Freshstream invests in founder-led and family-owned mid-market businesses that haven’t been previously owned or managed by an investment firm. The investment strategy has a broad scope, with a preference for stable sectors with favorable macroeconomic tailwinds. Freshstream generally aims to become a majority shareholder in order to achieve its desired level of impact. It applies its large-cap skills and investment discipline to mid-size organizations with revenues typically ranging from 50 to 300 million euros.

The Freshstream team comprises twenty-six professionals across the company’s offices in London and Amsterdam. The firm was founded in 2015 and has recently raised its second, fully independent fund with total committed capital of 760 million euros. So far, the company has completed five deals as part of its second fund: DeterTech, Bella Figura Music, Big Motoring World, Nafinco, and MCR Group.

Vacancy: Investment Associate

The Investment Associate will join Freshstream’s deal team, supporting deals from start to finish: from sourcing, valuation, and due diligence to returns assessment, bidding process, and documentation. After a deal closes, they will generally continue their involvement with the portfolio company through to exit. The Investment Associate will become part of Freshstream’s growing Amsterdam office, which currently consists of six people. In the first few months however, they might spend significant time in the London office to get to know the firm and learn about the business.

“We do not believe in a model where the deal team only does deals, and the portfolio team sticks to the portfolio side. The new Investment Associate will spend about seventy percent of their time on deals and thirty percent on portfolio work. That enables them to develop themselves into a rounded-out investment professional.” – Tom Carroll, Director in the Investment Team

Being part of the Amsterdam office, the Investment Associate will mainly work on Freshstream’s Dutch portfolio but could also be involved in UK-based deals. One of their primary responsibilities will be scanning the market and identifying new deal opportunities. Additionally, they will prepare decision-making in the investment committee and eventually coordinate the execution phase.

Even though the role centers around the financial aspects of deal-making, the Investment Associate will also be involved post-acquisition. They might get the opportunity to serve on the board of portfolio companies, will lead the process toward add-on acquisitions, and could be part of specific operational or strategic improvement projects. Towards the end of the investment horizon, the Investment Associate will also prepare the portfolio company for an exit, for example, by ensuring that a post-exit strategy is in place. Typically, the Investment Associate will work with two to three portfolio companies at a time.

By joining Freshstream, the Investment Associate becomes part of an entrepreneurial and growing PE firm. As a result, they will get lots of exposure to senior colleagues and the management teams of portfolio companies, get to work in an open culture with limited hierarchy and lots of responsibility, and have the chance to leave their footprint on the development of the firm.

Interested?

Freshstream is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
To express your interest, please contact Imke Peters at  Imke.Peters@topofminds.com.