2020 was a good and busy year for Main: we announced the first investment of the year on February 3rd and the last one just before Christmas. In total we partnered with 7 new platform companies and expanded our current portfolio with 16 add-on acquisitions. Also our team grew significantly.
Despite COVID-19 we had a quick start with our new fund Main VI, which was launched in 2020. We invested in software companies that support business-critical work processes in robust end markets. For example: in two of our Regions we partnered with leading GovTech players, MACH AG in Germany and Exxellence Groep in The Netherlands. Both players, with their solutions and related services, bring efficiency in critical work processes of municipalities and other public customers and increase the quality of services that local governments deliver to civilians.
All in all our portfolio performed well, with double digit recurring revenue growth rates at a healthy profitability level. Charly Zwemstra, Managing Partner of Main: “We monitored the impact of COVID-19 on our portfolio closely. Across the board we still see high growth, because of the robust underlying business models of our companies, megatrends like digitalization and the strong vision and execution of management teams of our portfolio companies. In some sectors and end-markets COVID-19 even accelerated the adoption of technology”.
In 2021 we continue our strategy, meaning that we keep focusing on building strong software groups in relevant, steady end markets. We do that in close cooperation with management teams, and we put extra emphasis on smart buy-and-build paths, international scaling and value creation.
Knowledge & networks: 2021 plans for Market Intelligence & Performance Improvement
Main Capital is a strategic partner for portfolio companies. We actively share knowledge and insights with our portfolio companies, and organize knowledge sharing and meet-ups. For 2021 we have concrete plans to build out the Market Intelligence (MI) & Performance Improvement (PI) activities. Managing Director MI&PI, Bram Kaashoek, explains: “Data on the market, performance and growth drivers is becoming more important. At Main we have our proprietary database with in-depth information on thousands of software companies in our Regions. This year we will spend more time on data enrichment and predictive analytics. Next to that, we deliver 10-20 in-depth market studies. These insights help senior leaders of our portfolio companies to define their growth strategies”.
Also related to Performance Improvement we make huge steps this year. Bram: “we help our portfolio companies with topics like setting the right KPIs for managing a SaaS business, pricing & packaging, customer success management and partner management. We’re happy that Bianca Takacs joined Main as a Performance Improvement Analyst recently. We expect this team to grow in the near future.”
2021: new Funds in preparation
We are also preparing the launch of 2 new funds. With the current investment pace of Main and the traction of the European software industry we see ample opportunities for our new flagship fund Main Capital VII as well as Main Foundation I, a fund targeting smaller, high-growth SaaS companies. The combined target size of the two funds is € 1 billion.
Newsletter
We will keep you informed on the most relevant developments of Main Capital Partners