The firm McWin Capital Partners already has €1.075 billion under management and is Europe's largest investor in the hospitality and food sectors.
The largest investment fund specialized in restaurants and food companies in Europe, McWin Capital Partners, wants to continue growing through new acquisitions. The vehicle—created in 2021 by Henry McGovern and Steven K. Winegar, founders of AmRest Holdings (La Tagliatella and Sushi Shop) and Grupo Zena (Domino’s Pizza, Foster’s, or VIPS)—currently has €1.075 billion under management through 19 investments in fast-food chains such as Burger King in Germany, Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic; Subway in France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Luxembourg; or the Italian restaurants Big Mamma, with its Madrid-based brands Bel Mondo, Villa Capri, and Circolo Popolare.
Its goal next year is to raise between €200 million and €300 million to reach €1.3 billion in assets under management. Regarding Spain, the focus is on expanding the business of the pizzeria and Italian food chain Vapiano, which currently has only two locations in the center of Barcelona (Gran Vía and Ramblas). McWin counts Spanish institutions and entrepreneurs among its shareholders, such as Manuel Lao, founder of the Cirsa casino network. “About 70% of our investor base is Spanish. One of our goals is to raise capital in other countries,” sources from the firm noted.
McWin’s latest transaction was closing a €3 million investment round for its portfolio company Catcher, a Spanish startup that connects restaurants with food delivery couriers, thanks to the entry into the capital of Sabadell VC, Audentes Capital, Faraday Venture Capital, and CIMA Capital. For now, they rule out further operations in Spain for the remainder of the year, but they find the dynamism shown by the food and hospitality industry highly attractive.
Low cost and scalable startups
McWin’s philosophy is based on finding opportunities in low-cost restaurant chains and scalable startups within the food industry, such as alternative protein companies The EVERY Company, Impossible Foods, and UPSIDE Foods, the sustainable packaging company Footprint, and the vertical farming company Oishii.
Food is a €10 trillion-a-year industry that is in a full expansion phase, driven by the prosperity of the middle class in developing countries and increased investment and interest from developed societies in a balanced, healthy diet with a lower environmental impact. Between 2015 and 2023, this sector ranked sixth in terms of capital raised, securing €122 billion, and has multiplied its value by five over the last decade.