Private Equity
Awards 2022

Discover the winners and nominees of the 2022 edition of the PE Awards.

Venture company of the year, defined as a company backed by a venture capital firm, where the investment was primarily aimed at developing an innovative product or service, at scaling-up the company or accelerating the go-to-market process;

Growth company of the year, defined as a company backed by a private equity firm, typically through a minority investment, that is looking to expand and improve operations or enter new markets in order to accelerate its growth;

Buy-out company of the year, defined as a company backed by a private equity firm holding a majority or a controlling stake, and financed through a mix of equity and debt.

Venture Company of the year:

Qover

Brussels

Qover was founded in March 2016 by Quentin Colmant (CEO) and Jean-Charles Velge (CMO). Its vision is to become the leader of embedded insurance orchestration.

Qover enables any digital business to embed insurance into its value proposition at a global level – helping them reach their strategic goals in terms of revenue generation, customer acquisition/retention or building a unique value proposition to differentiate themselves in the market.

To that end, Qover built a tech platform that can launch any insurance product into any market, in any language and in any currency in a matter of days. This platform allows third-party businesses to integrate their insurance proposition through open APIs or a white-label solution.

The following companies are clients of Qover at a local or global level: Revolut, InsureMyTesla (official Tesla programme), Deliveroo, Glovo, Wolt, Getir, Cowboy, Immoweb, BNP Paribas Cardif, Decathlon, Giant, Canyon and many more.

Qover has around 110 FTEs and operates in the entire EEA + the UK (32 countries) and has registered offices in Brussels and London.

Growth Company of the year:

Lansweeper

Merelbeke

Lansweeper is an IT Asset Management platform provider helping businesses better understand, manage and protect their IT devices and network. Lansweeper helps customers minimise risks and optimise their IT assets by providing actionable insights into their technology assets at all times, offering trustworthy, valuable, and accurate insights about the state of users, devices, and software.

Since its launch in 2004, Lansweeper has been developing a software platform to discover and inventory all types of technology assets, installed software, and users – allowing organisations to centrally manage their IT.

Buy-Out Company of the year:

Sylphar

Sint-Martens-Latem

Sylphar is a Belgium-based company developing and marketing OTC products worldwide. Sylphar focuses on bringing innovative and consumer friendly products to the global market.

The company offers teeth whitening products, an innovative range of solutions for specific skin conditions, a 100% vegan range of food supplements, a brand of superfood elixirs, vegan nutrition and food supplements, a therapeutic solution for people affected by hyperhidrosis, oral therapeutics and skin, hair & body care products.

The Sylphar brands are distributed in more than 50 countries worldwide with the support of local distribution partners and/or through online platforms. The major markets of the company include Spain, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Eastern European countries.

Other Nominees

Aerospacelab (Venture company)

Aerospacelab is a Belgian scale-up founded in 2018 and located near Louvain-La-Neuve.

With a unique vertically integrated approach, Aerospacelab is specialised in satellite platforms and geospatial intelligence. It designs, manufactures and operates a constellation of remote sensing satellites, empowering intelligence and insights by its proprietary satellite data.

In June 2022, Aerospacelab proudly unveiled its satellite “megafactory” commitment, with a yearly production capacity of 500 satellites, making it effectively the largest satellite manufacturing plant in Europe.

The company currently employs more than 140 full-time employees and is aiming for 100 additional hires before the end of 2023. The manufacturing plant in Charleroi is expected to be functional by 2025, creating added working opportunities.

Precirix (Venture company)

Precirix is a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2014 as a spin-off from the VUB, dedicated to extending and improving the lives of cancer patients by designing and developing precision radiopharmaceuticals, using camelid single-domain antibodies labelled with radioisotopes.

The company has a broad pipeline with one product candidate in a Phase I/II clinical trial and two in advanced preclinical stage. Precirix’ technology also allows for a theranostic approach, where patients can be selected using a low dose/imaging version of the product, followed by a therapeutic dose for treatment.

Efficy (Growth company)

The Efficy group was created in 2005 by Cédric Pierrard and Robert Houdart, with the aim of launching a complete and highly customisable SaaS CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution.

Based in Brussels, the group is present in 15 countries, has more than 550 employees, nearly 13,500 customers and 330,000 daily users.

With double-digit growth, Efficy launched its 5³ strategic plan in 2019. The goal is to multiply the company’s size by five to represent 5% of the independent CRM market in Europe, all within 5 years. To achieve this, the group is committed to an ambitious strategy of organic growth and buy-and-build.

Fedrus International (Growth company)

Fedrus International is a Belgium-based international building materials group, active in the production and distribution of roof & façade materials and services with a focus on EDPM-rubber and zinc.

The group has built up unique experience and know-how, by constantly striving for quality and with a strong will to keep innovating, enabling the different business units to become market leaders in their field. The Fedrus mission: being the preferred partner for the roof and façade professional.

Fedrus International realises a total revenue of about EUR 750 million and provides employment to over 1,550 employees.

Baobab Collection (Buy-out company)

Baobab Collection first saw the light of day in 2002, in the enchanting landscape of Tanzania, a country rich in intense colours and bewitching perfumes. The company was transferred to Belgium in 2004.

Baobab Collection offers an array of diffusers and candles, made of either hand-blown glass or metal upholstered in precious leather.

The Belgian brand stays true to its values of craftsmanship and excellence by supporting European expertise and craftsmen.

From the flagship stores in Brussels, London and Antwerp to the most prestigious department stores, the brand can be found in more than five hundred locations worldwide.

House of HR (Buy-out company)

House of HR is a leading European HR service provider focused on Specialised Talent Solutions and Engineering & Consulting. Their goal is to connect people’s talents and dreams to successful companies. Thanks to their HR services, both big and small organisations are able to lead and succeed across many industries.

In 2021, House of HR realised a turnover of EUR 2.2 billion and EBITDA of EUR 262.7 million. The group provides work to almost 60,000 people every month and has 4,300 employees spread over more than 600 offices in Europe.

Our aim is to reward and celebrate high-performing Belgian companies that are backed by a private equity or venture capital investor, thus highlighting private equity as an asset class supporting the development and growth of Belgian businesses. By creating three award categories, we reflect the three major archetypes in our industry; Venture, Growth and Buy-out. The direct financial return for the private equity investor does not constitute the decisive factor for selecting the award winners.

Videos

Venture Company

Qover - winner

Growth Company

Lansweeper - winner

Buy-out Company

Sylphar - winner

Aftermovie

Behind the Scenes