Strategies

Our investment teams have distinct strategies and focus on investing in mid-market companies in a variety of sectors in the US and Europe.

All strategies

Our investment teams have distinct strategies and focus on investing in mid-market companies in a variety of sectors in the US and Europe.

Flexible capital and strategic assistance for market-leading companies in high-growth sectors in North America and Europe

Equity capital for mid-sized companies in the DACH region and Italy

Growth capital and strategic assistance to software companies throughout Europe

Impact platform investing in climate and nature-based solutions

Private equity primaries, co-investments, and secondaries across North America and Europe

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News

New Private Markets Article: Bregal hires NGO veteran to co-lead natural capital push

Date: 29 Jan 2024
Category: Firm news

New Private Markets spoke with Managing Partners, Agustin Silvani and Alvar de Wolff on the launch of the Bregal Sphere Nature strategy. Read the full article written by Toby Mitchenall at New Private Markets, PEI Group below.

Bregal Sphere, the recently launched impact arm of Bregal Investments, wants to be at the 'tip of the spear' in showing what high-quality carbon credits look like, says the new co-lead of its nature-based solutions strategy.

Bregal Investments, a private equity firm with five separate fund strategies, has added a sixth in the form of a natural capital impact strategy: Bregal Sphere Nature. 

Bregal established the unit last year when it appointed Alvar de Wolff, its former head of ESG and responsible investing and an influencer in private markets sustainability to lead its push into impact. The firm has now hired Agustin Silvani, formerly head of conservation finance at Conservation International, to lead Sphere's first strategy alongside de Wolff as joint managing partner. Silvani, spent 14 years as chief investment officer of Conservation International Ventures, the NGO's impact investing arm. 

Speaking to New Private Markets, de Wolff said there is a nature financing gab that Bregal hopes to help fill:

"The demand for these types of investments comes from corporates seeking to decarbonise their supply chain [as part of their net zero plans] and secondly to invest in making those supply chains most resilient for the long tern because of changing climate. We also see institutional investors looking to allocate capital into nature and fund the transition to nature-positive supply chains."

Alvar De Wolff Testimonial Image

Alvar de Wolff

Managing Partner - Bregal Sphere

Bregal Sphere Nature will focus on long-term project investments within agricultural supply chains, such as coffee and cocoa agroforestry models. It will work with developers to finance regenerative agriculture projects with farmers and co-operatives, with the view to producing carbon credits. 

"The real potential here would be working to turn these supply chains from carbon sources into carbon sinks."

Agustin Silvani Testimonial Image

Agustin Silvani

Managing Partner - Bregal Sphere

"If we want to achieve global climate and biodiversity goals, the private sector really needs to step up, and hopefully we can play a part in that. We believe we can take our rigorous private equity investment practices, such as origination, risk management and underwriting, and apply them to this nascent asset class."

Alvar De Wolff Testimonial Image

Alvar de Wolff

Managing Partner - Bregal Sphere

The firm declined to comment on fundraising plans, citing regulatory reasons. 

Silvani sits on the board of the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets, a body established to define and enforce quality in the supply of carbon credits. He believes that voluntary carbon markets are - like any other markets - going through "periods of change and evolution, which is a good thing". "I think we are at the start of 'carbon markets 2.0', in a way," he said. "There are new rules, new standards, new scrutiny, new regulations. So the bar is essentially rising."

"We are at the 'tip of the spear' in terms of showing what high-quality, high-integrity carbon markets look like. And that is why the focus is on supply chains, on insets: on quantifiable benefits; these are all aligned with where the market is going and [what] corporations need to be prioritising."

Alvar De Wolff Testimonial Image

Alvar de Wolff

Managing Partner - Bregal Sphere

The Bregal Sphere team is currently seven people, said de Wolff, but would look to get to a dozen by the end of the year.

"In addition to impact investing talent, we are excited to hire people from NGOs: we recognise we need a diverse team with different skill sets to underwrite these products, because of course you have the carbon and nature piece, but you also have the general financial analysis aspect to it."

Alvar De Wolff Testimonial Image

Alvar de Wolff

Managing Partner - Bregal Sphere