Waterland’s head office in Bussum, Netherlands. Karl Falk, Head of Fund Investments at AP6, Bart Elema, CFO and Partner at Waterland.
Photos: Johan Olsson
Waterland stresses the value of maintaining a local focus at all times. It applies not only to investments, but also to where it sets up offices. It also understands the value in taking a long-term approach and ensuring that investors are well-represented geographically.
“For us, it’s incredibly important to maintain a local focus at all times. Through our investments, we learn about the local market and when we set up offices, we hire local expertise. The same applies when we select the investors in our funds. We also take a long-term approach and want our investors to be well-represented geographically,” says Frank Vlayen, CEO and Group Managing Partner at Waterland.
Waterland is ranked as one of the most high-performing buyout funds in the world. Benelux and the German-speaking countries are its main markets.
Waterland has identified four areas of particular interest from a long-term perspective. One has to do with demographic changes that are occurring in countries with an aging population. Then, there is the need for higher efficiency and streamlining in both the public and private sectors.
The third area has to do with leisure and convenience. Sustainability is the fourth area, where the public sector, private sector and consumers are all becoming more aware of the future challenges.
“AP6 is established in the region too, with its special focus on unlisted assets. “Because it is a pension fund with a long-term perspective, we feel there is value in having AP6 as one of our investors,” says Bart Elema, CFO and Partner at Waterland.
Emphasis on maintaining a local focus is the common denominator throughout. The strategy is to open local offices only at locations where Waterland has made company acquisitions.
One example of this was the decision to open offices in Copenhagen, which occurred in 2017, after having made a dozen or more investments in the Nordic region in recent years.
“It’s a good match with AP6’s strategy of carefully choosing partners and building long-term relationships with them. We’re convinced that it’s how to achieve the highest level of professionalism as regards both investing and creating value for our clients, i.e. Sweden’s pensioners,” says Karl Falk, Head of Fund Investments at AP6.
“We feel that there is a natural link between being close to both our investments, and our investors. We’re firmly established in the Nordic region via our investments in Denmark and our office in Copenhagen. AP6 is established in the region too, with its special focus on unlisted assets. “Because it is a pension fund with a long-term perspective, we feel there is value in having AP6 as one of our investors,” says Bart Elema, CFO and Partner at Waterland.
In addition to that, investors are given the opportunity to follow Waterland’s continued progress, via more engagement from all sides. That’s how a long-term relationship is established for both sides.
“It’s a good match with AP6’s strategy of carefully choosing partners and building long-term relationships with them. We’re convinced that it’s how to achieve the highest level of professionalism as regards both investing and creating value for our clients, i.e. Sweden’s pensioners,” says Karl Falk, Head of Fund Investments at AP6.