Vendis Capital

Investment decisions are led by Managing Partners and co-founders Cédric Olbrechts and Vincent Braams, who share responsibility for the firm’s strategic direction and deal approvals. Both have built their careers in European consumer private equity. They chair the investment committee, which evaluates each transaction against the firm’s sector focus and returns criteria. The broader investment team, operating out of Diegem and Paris, originates and executes opportunities under their guidance.

Vendis Capital sources primarily through its deep relationships with consumer brand founders, family-owned businesses, and sector-focused intermediaries across the Benelux, France, Italy, and Iberia. The firm’s singular focus on consumer goods means it is often the first institutional call for entrepreneurs in those markets seeking a partner that understands brand building and retail distribution. Its dedicated Paris office further strengthens deal origination in Southern Europe.

Vendis Capital is an institutional asset manager — a private equity firm — not a single-family or multi-family office. It raises discretionary funds from a range of institutional limited partners, including pension funds and fund-of-funds, and deploys capital following a traditional blind-pool fund model. The firm is regulated as a professional investment manager in Belgium.

Vendis Capital executes exclusively direct control-oriented and growth equity investments into European consumer companies. It does not operate as a fund-of-funds and does not make passive limited-partner commitments into other private equity vehicles; all capital is deployed through direct deals in its core consumer vertical.

Vendis Capital typically serves as the lead or sole institutional sponsor for its portfolio companies, acquiring majority stakes to drive the operational agenda. While co-investment rights can be offered selectively to its own limited partners on larger transactions, the firm does not regularly syndicate equity with competing general partners.

Vendis Capital deliberately stays outside of technology, industrials, healthcare services, and financial services, maintaining a pure-play focus on branded consumer goods, retail, luxury, health and wellness, and food and beverage. This self-imposed restriction includes avoiding consumer sectors heavily tied to cyclical discretionary spending without a strong brand moat.

The firm invests across continental Europe with a strong emphasis on the Benelux region, France, Italy, and the Iberian Peninsula. Its headquarters are in Diegem, Belgium, and it operates an additional office in Paris. While it evaluates opportunities originating in adjacent regions such as DACH and the Nordics, its active dealmaking centers on Western and Southern Europe.