Investing in local territories: a strong conviction at SWEN Capital Partners
On January 9, Laurent Ghilardi, Head of Portfolio Management and Head of the Multi‑Strategy Private Equity business at SWEN Capital Partners, was a guest of Guillaume Sommerer on BFM Bourse to highlight a key reality: investment needs to be more firmly rooted in local territories.
According to France Invest, Paris and its region account for more than 50% of all investments, while representing only 25% of the French economy.
There is therefore a real investment shortfall in regional areas, even though local SMEs and mid‑caps are the drivers of employment, innovation, and growth.
Why invest in the regions?
- An environmental benefit:The ecological transition cannot be uniform or dictated from above. It can only succeed if it is designed at the local level, as close as possible to each territory’s resources, practices, and specific needs.
- A social benefit: Investing locally is also a deeply social choice: creating sustainable jobs, strengthening local services, and improving people’s well‑being.
Private Equity now plays a key role in financing regional businesses.
At SWEN Capital Partners, we support 1,500 unlisted companies in France.
Here are a few concrete examples of local anchoring:
- Marcel & Fils: an organic grocery chain based in Venelles (near Aix‑en‑Provence), with 70 stores across the Southeast quarter, over €150M in revenue, and more than 500 employees.
- Maison Routin: a historic French company specializing in premium syrups, with a production site in Valaurie, in the Drôme Provençale region, at the heart of local orchards.
- Mousline: the undisputed leader in mashed potato products. It is an independent SME with nearly 200 employees, mostly at the Rosières‑en‑Santerre plant (Somme). Its activity is non‑relocatable, with 80% of potatoes grown within a 50‑km radius by more than 100 local farmers.
To watch the full interview, click on the image below:
