Berenberg Private Capital

Berenberg Private Capital operates as the dedicated growth-equity and venture co-investment unit inside Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, the Hamburg-based bank. The unit sits within the Investment Banking division and deploys the parent bank's balance sheet rather than raising external limited-partner funds (per Berenberg, 2017).

The unit invests the bank's own permanent capital, not third-party commitments. This balance-sheet structure eliminates standard fund-life constraints, allowing Berenberg Private Capital to hold positions on a multi-generational timeline aligned with the partner-owned bank's horizon.

The mandate covers venture through late-stage growth equity, with capital typically deployed as co-investment alongside lead venture and growth equity funds. The firm does not act as a lead or sole investor, preferring to follow established GP relationships. Sector focus concentrates on B2B enterprise software, industrial technology, and digital health, predominantly in the DACH region.

Publicly reported portfolio companies include Lilium, the electric aviation developer, and Sennder, the Berlin-based digital freight-forwarding platform. The unit typically gains exposure through participation in funding rounds led by tier-one venture capital firms active in Germany.

Deal flow originates through a cultivated network of venture and growth equity general partners, not through a proprietary origination team seeking direct company relationships. This network-based co-investment model uses Berenberg's brand and balance-sheet permanence to access allocations in competitive rounds.

Kai Oldenburg, as Head of Private Capital, leads the investment team and is the primary decision-maker on allocations. He operates under the broader oversight of the Investment Banking management board member, Hendrik Borggreve, and ultimately reports into the bank's partner governance structure (per Berenberg, 2024).

Primary emphasis is on Germany and the wider DACH region (Austria, Switzerland). The unit also pursues selective opportunities in the United Kingdom and the United States, typically following existing portfolio companies or GP relationships into expansion-stage rounds.