Illi & Compagnie

Illi & Compagnie

Illi & Compagnie was established in 2006 to manage the wealth created by Willi Illbruck's eponymous industrial group, founded in 1952. The family generated liquidity through a partial sale of Illbruck GmbH in 2005, a diversified manufacturer spanning automotive supply, construction products, and office systems. Today, the Berlin single-family office is led by the next generation—Marco Illbruck as Managing Director and Sabina Illbruck as Principal—who direct both the investment activity and the family's prominent role in international equestrian sport. The family office operates as a direct investor across the capital structure, targeting European mid-market companies. Confirmed strategies span private equity buyouts, distressed and turnaround situations, private credit, and real estate. The office also invests in startups and participates in hedge funds. Its most visible non-financial allocations center on sports assets, including a portfolio of elite show-jumping horses managed alongside professional rider Max Kühner, and historical yachting programs such as the Pinta racing team and the Illbruck Challenge Volvo Ocean 60 campaign. Geographically, the investment posture remains anchored in Europe, with operational real estate holdings confirmed in Berlin and Leverkusen. The office maintains a lean structure from its Tiergarten headquarters in Berlin and a secondary commercial outpost in Leverkusen. While total professional headcount is undisclosed, the team is closely held by the Illbruck siblings. The family's broader ecosystem includes the Willi-Illbruck-Stiftung philanthropic foundation and several operating ventures: PlantaHorse, an equine-nutrition company in Berlin, and a BioRanch entity in Germany. The office also holds membership in the Deutscher Motorsport Verband, reflecting a generational link to competitive sailing and motorsport. In recent years, Invest AG has appeared as a regular co-investor in mid-market discussions. Illi & Compagnie distinguishes itself through an investment mandate that fuses traditional private equity with a genuine operating footprint in professional sport. The Illbruck family does not treat equestrian assets as a passive trophy holding; the principals compete at an elite international level, and the office extends this operational philosophy to companies like PlantaHorse. This integration of sport-related operating businesses alongside a direct mid-market buyout portfolio gives the firm a hybrid structure more commonly found in European industrial-family offices, where patient capital supports both economic and sporting legacies.