Nobel Capital Partners

Daniël van der Pluijm and Pieter Schroeder, the founding partners, jointly lead investment decision-making. Van der Pluijm focuses on dealmaking and portfolio company strategy, while Schroeder concentrates on sourcing, deal execution, and operational improvement programs. Investment Director Marnix Rijnberg and Senior Investment Manager Thijs Heijblok manage day-to-day transaction execution and specific portfolio company workstreams.

Nobel relies on a concentrated Dutch network built around the founding partners’ prior roles at Cyrte Investments, H2 Equity Partners, BCG, and Roland Berger. The firm targets majority positions in companies with €2–€10 million in operating profit, a segment it believes is underserved by larger institutional funds. Nobel’s investment team, which includes former bankers from ABN AMRO and ING, primarily sources off-market transactions through direct relationships with founders, management teams, and family-owned businesses.

Nobel operates through two primary vehicles. Fonds II, raised in 2020 at approximately €45 million, is a closed-end fund now fully invested across six platform companies, with ongoing add-on acquisition capacity. A separate evergreen fund holds older partnerships from the firm’s earlier focus on special situations and long-term collaborations. The firm also manages direct co-investment and add-on transactions alongside these vehicles.

Nobel conducts direct control investments — there is no indication of fund-of-funds activity or commitments to third-party GPs. The firm structures majority equity positions and leads buy-and-build consolidations within its own portfolio. Its capital is deployed through check sizes of €4–€20 million per platform, with add-on acquisitions executed and managed internally.

Nobel targets mature, profitable companies undergoing transformation: succession-driven buyouts, management buyouts, corporate spin-offs, turnarounds, and reorganizations. The firm explicitly avoids venture-stage risk, preferring businesses with €2–€10 million in operating profit. Its “Nobel Aanpak” framework sequences a defined transaction phase, a multi-year operational transformation, and a positioning-and-exit phase.

Nobel states it has no formal sector preference, focusing instead on businesses whose models it can understand deeply. However, the portfolio reveals a concentration in manufacturing, consumer retail, and franchising — including composites manufacturing, flooring retail, workwear and PPE, vitamins and supplements, stainless-steel components, and salon franchising. The firm does not appear active in biotech, deep tech, financial services, or infrastructure.

Nobel assigns investment professionals to specific portfolio companies rather than maintaining a generalized pool. Willem-Pieter Berger supports Bebo and Comafin, Thijs Heijblok covers Vitaminstore, Proforto, and Kenonz, and Sanne Drossaert focuses on Nedcam. This model embeds accountability into the post-close transformation phase and mirrors the firm’s operational-partner philosophy.