Certior celebrates its 10th birthday!
HELSINKI – Certior Capital recently passed the 10 year milestone since it was established back in the summer of 2011. The three co-founders, Ari Jauho, Timo Hara and Pasi Pihlajamaa, continue to run the business and lead its pan-European deal sourcing and investment activities which has seen almost EUR 1bn invested todate. “I would like to sincerely thank the whole team as well as all of our international investors and investment partners who have made possible the positive development of Certior Capital during this past decade”, comments Certior chairman and co-founder Ari Jauho, who started his investment career in the 1990s. “Ten years ago we set out to build a private equity and private credit business that was distinct from our competitors. That’s why we have always focused on finding opportunities away from the crowds and prefer to operate in undercapitalised market segments that provide asymmetric risk-return profiles. I guess we just like being unconstrained investors rather than allocators!”.
Co-founder Timo Hara agrees that value can still be found in the less visited parts the market. “SME direct lending – typically senior loans of EUR 5–25m – is one area where very little capital has historically been allocated and where as a result we are able to underwrite co-investments with double digit returns offering both upside participation and downside protection. While returns for mid-market lenders have been under pressure for several years now we see no change in the terms for these smaller transactions. We are also pretty well unique in seeking to cornerstone new and emerging managers in this space”, he continues. Meanwhile, on the private equity side we focus on new managers, sector specialists, concept funds and deal by deal teams who are highly incentivised to outperform. Most LPs remain very much underweight to many of the most interesting market segments such as these which offer the potential for above average returns”.
“The past year or two, in particular, have been very busy for us as we have built out our team, established new funds, such as Certior Special Opportunities Fund, and sourced increasing numbers of transactions. We are also moving into a new enlarged office next month”, adds co-founder Pasi Pihlajamaa. “Returns have been very good so far and we are now seeing more and more interest in our funds from investors across Europe. As our brand has grown so has the industry recognition. Earlier this month Certior Credit Opportunities Fund II SCSp was nominated as a finalist in the Alternative Credit European Performance Awards 2021 in the category of private debt – specialty finance and we were also shortlisted in the Private Equity Awards 2021 in the category of Special Situations House of the Year”.
About Certior Capital
Certior Capital is a leading private equity and private credit advisor and alternative investment fund manager supervised by the Finnish FSA. The firm’s core expertise is in European lower- and mid-market private equity and private credit markets, where the team’s experience is one of the longest in Europe. Certior currently manages or advises a number of separate accounts and five investment programs. Certior Credit Opportunities Fund and Certior Credit Opportunities Fund II invest in niche SME direct lending funds and make investments directly into loans. Certior Credit Investments is a co-investment fund investing in European mid-market direct lending transactions. Certior Private Equity Fund I focuses on complex and unique European small- and mid-market private equity opportunities. Certior Special Opportunities Fund invests in distressed debt, special situations and opportunistic strategies. Certior Credit Opportunities Fund III will be launched in Q3 2021.
For further comments or additional information please contact Ari Jauho:
Email: ari.jauho@certiorcapital.com
Tel: +358 50 33 78 282
