Citywire | 30 January 2020
Asian private equity firm LionRock Capital has opened an office in Zurich.
Zurich was an obvious choice for the firm’s first office in Europe, said LionRock’s head of Europe Tom Pitts.
‘It seemed sensible for logistics. It’s three hours to Italy by train and it works comfortably with the tax regime. In retrospect, it’s been a really great move,’ he said.
Italy, where the firm owns 30% of football team Inter Milan, is an important market for LionRock, but Pitts is also open to Swiss investors, both as potential sources of investment and to contribute to their investment strategies.
He said: ‘Something that surprised me is the depth of conversation around potential for co-investment.
‘By virtue of the sorts of companies we look at there are a number of European family offices that have a history of retail and sport that have looked for ways to get involved.
‘I think the way we tend to invest is we like that council of wise men. The more people that look critically around our investment thesis the better. I guess part of having a presence here is that you get enquiries, although that’s not why we made the move to Switzerland.’
The firm already had offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Pitts says that the company’s partnership with Chinese sporting goods tycoon Li Ning, who is LionRock’s non-executive chairman, is valuable to European investors. Ning’s company, which recently launched a fund with LionRock, has 60,000 employees in China.
‘There’s lots of families that have backgrounds in retail. This is an attractive proposition for them. They come into an ecosystem that puts them closer to China, not only as an investment for them but also they can take advantage of our access to further their own business aspirations.
‘Li Ning gives us our edge. He is the Nike of China. To have a lens like him around what the approach of the Chinese consumer is, is invaluable,’ he said.
Pitts added that LionRock’s main interest in Europe is to expand its investment in European sporting brands.
‘There are so many wonderful young companies and older companies that point of growth where they start thinking about an Asian strategy,’ he said.
