Ring Capital closes €217m growth buy-out fund to back ‘high-performing’ impact companies

Ring Capital has announced the final close of its Altitude II Growth fund at €217m. The fund will back growth-stage companies working across impact verticals such as energy, mobility, healthcare, and education.

Anchor LPs in the fund include investors in the first (€165m) Altitude fund – Tikehau, Bpifrance, and Swen. New backers include Crédit Agricole, Abeille Assurances, Investcorp Tages and the European Investment Fund (EIF).

Nicolas Celier, co-founder and Managing Partner of Ring Capital, said he Altitude II would support “a new generation of high-performing companies…experts in their sectors.”

The final close of Altitude II comes two years after the first close of €125m in December 2023.

Ring Capital has recently appointed two new team members to help manage the fund: Anthony Guillen as partner and Maxime Dejardin as analyst.

Investment strategy

Ring Capital’s new fund offers scaleups customised growth capital, direct help structuring their teams, and support to map out and execute acquisition plans, the company said. It also tracks social and environmental performance and sets incentives so founders and investors benefit together when the company grows in both value and impact.

Founded in 2017, Ring Capital has €470m under management across four different funds. Portfolio companies include the likes of MoEa, a vegan sneakers brand, and HyLight, which is developing a small airship for the maintenance of power lines. More mature companies include electricity flexibility provider Enerdigit and Yespark, a parking rental marketplace for EVs.

‘Impact became meaningless’

Despite a dip in funding for impact companies over the last few years, Celier believes now is the best time to back these kinds of businesses.

“We see [the backlash] as very positive news,” he previously told Impact Loop. “Impact became meaningless – everyone was saving the world, or at least pretending to.”

Now, with the green halo dimmed and many valuations corrected, Celier believes the sector is healthier than ever.

“We’re seeing better quality assets, better entrepreneurs, and more realistic valuations,” he says. “It’s a great thing, both in terms of real impact and investor intentionality.”

The Frenchman says his optimism is fuelled by his belief that impact investing is built on “megatrends” that aren’t going away.

“We need to transform the planet, supply chains, and adapt to climate change. We need to invest in things. Whether Trump wants it or not, it will survive him.”