Croissy-Beaubourg, October 5, 2023 – After supporting Acorus and its President, Philippe Benquet, during two capital operations in 2010 and 2015, NextStage AM continues its support for the specialist in eco-renovation on occupied sites and is strengthening capital during a 24 million euro transaction. NextStage AM's investment through the Pépites & Territoires by AXA & NextStage AM program and its EverGreen fund will enable Acorus to accelerate its strong growth in a rapidly developing market. BNP Paribas Développement takes a stake in this operation.
Created in 1996 and taken over in 2010 by Philippe Benquet with the support of NextStage AM, Acorus, which then had a turnover of €24m, has established itself as a key player in maintenance, eco-renovation and the rehabilitation of real estate assets, mainly on behalf of social landlords, co-owners and tertiary accommodation players.
A true “one-stop-shop” for renovation, Acorus deploys its activity around more than twenty trades (masonry, heating, plumbing, renovation, painting, electricity, carpentry, etc.) and hundreds of expert technicians (design office, risk prevention, thermal insulation, etc.). Acorus controls its entire value chain internally, with the use of subcontracting remaining very limited. Indeed, to satisfy its customers over the long term, the group has opted for job creation rather than subcontracting as is customary in the construction sector. The group now has more than 1 employees spread across Ile-de-France, Lyon, Nantes, Rennes, Bordeaux and Orléans.
Since 2010, Acorus has experienced very strong organic development in its historic businesses. In recent years, this growth has been accelerated by several strategic external growth operations allowing the group to complete its positioning in the value chain and address complementary markets. The group's growth has also been enriched by the development, internally and in partnership, of several software and technological solutions around construction site management, building energy consumption and the reuse of construction materials. In 13 years, Acorus has multiplied its volume of activity by more than 10x and created more than 1.200 jobs in France. By the end of 2023, the Acorus group aims to achieve nearly €300m in turnover.
With the support of NextStage AM, via its EverGreen and Pépites & Territoires by AXA & NextStage AM funds, and BNP Paribas Développement, Acorus intends to accelerate the deployment of its strategy with an enrichment of its eco-renovation offer, a strengthening of its presence in major cities in France and the conquest of new markets.
Driven by an ambitious and increasingly dense regulatory environment, building renovation needs in France represent a market of one billion square meters, with strong growth prospects in eco-renovation and work reducing the energy consumption of buildings. buildings. In this context, Acorus is at the forefront of innovation and wishes to be a lasting driving force in establishing the best environmental practices and standards on the market. The company was also ranked 39th in the 2022 ranking of the Moniteur du Bâtiment, a positioning which testifies to the company's meteoric rise in the real estate renovation market.
“The entrepreneurial experience of NextStage AM and their vision of market trends have been important in accelerating our growth and structuring the group since the start of this common adventure in 2010. We are delighted that the long-term support of NextStage AM will be continue in this new stage of Acorus' development with the support of AXA and BNP Paribas Développement. », declares Philippe Benquet, President of the Acorus group.
“Acorus is a unique player that has been able to disrupt its market through a strong DNA of organizational and service innovation. We are happy to renew our commitment to Philippe Benquet and the Acorus group in order to continue to build together one of the leaders in eco-renovation in France. This investment demonstrates the solid and lasting relationship we have with Acorus and whose activity resonates with one of our main investment themes, environmental innovation,” adds Michaël Strauss-Kahn, partner at NextStage AM.
“AXA France is proud to support the growth of Acorus through the Pépites et Territoires program. Its development throughout France contributes to job creation, the diffusion of innovation and growth in the territories. The energy transition has been at the heart of our action for many years. This investment is further proof of our commitment. » adds Corinne Calendini, Managing Director of Axa Savings, Retirement and Individual Protection.
“The BNP Paribas Développement teams are pleased to be able to support Acorus, alongside Pépites & Territoires by NextStage AM & AXA France, in this new stage of its development. Acorus is a major player in building renovation, anchored in the regions. This investment once again demonstrates BNP Paribas Développement's commitment to supporting the energy transition,” adds Julien Lemaire, Investment Manager at BNP Paribas Développement.
Actors of the operation :
- NextStage AM: Michael Strauss-Kahn, Emilio Johnston
- BNP Paribas Development: Jean-Charles Moulin, Pierre-Edouard Vidal, Julien Lemaire, Sitti-Nouria Maliki
- BEJ Peyre: Jean-Luc Mariani
- Mazars: Pierre Tchertoff, Baptiste Faye, Emeline Morrier, Sacha Bombaron
- Banque Palatine (Agent and arranger), CE IDF, BPRI, LCL (co-arranger), CIC Est (co-arranger), BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole Brie Picardie
About Acorus:
For more than 20 years, the Acorus Group has specialized in eco-renovation. This French mid-sized company maintains, renovates and rehabilitates real estate assets to improve the lives of occupants, the sustainability of the heritage and its valorization. Always with an environmental approach in order to minimize the impact of its construction sites and reduce the carbon impact of buildings. With 1600 committed employees, Acorus continues its organic growth, thanks in particular to major markets won in the areas of housing, hotels and the tertiary sector, throughout France.
About NextStage AM:
Independent management company based in Paris, approved by the AMF, NextStage AM, which has cultivated an “entrepreneur-investor” philosophy since its inception in 2002, is one of the pioneers and leaders of innovative and patient development capital in France. NextStage AM has developed step by step, a multi-strategy Private Equity platform which represents, in terms of assets, managed and advised, as of June 30, 2023, directly and indirectly, nearly €8 billion in AUM*. NextStage AM invests in a limited number of SMEs and ETIs (87 portfolio companies as of 30/06/2023), French and European, innovative, and growth, to which it provides entrepreneurial investor expertise and strong operational support (integration environmental innovation, talents, international, external growth). NextStage AM provides long-term support to these SMEs & ETIs involved in smart health, environmental innovation and Digital. It gives them the means to accelerate their development and their capacity for innovation to become “Champions” of their markets, both in France and internationally, through organic and/or external growth.
Support from Acorus: MM. Jean-David Haas, Michael Strauss-Kahn and Emilio Johnston.
*Outstandings represented directly by NextStage AM and indirectly by Atream and Linxea (advised outstandings), two NextStage participations.
About BNP Paribas Développement:
BNP Paribas Development, an independent subsidiary of the international banking group BNP Paribas, is a public limited company that has invested its own funds directly for more than 30 years as a minority shareholder to support the development of high-performance SMEs and ETIs and ensure their sustainability by facilitating their transmission. Beyond the financial resources made available to the company to ensure stable resources, the vocation of BNP Paribas Development is to provide long-term support to the management team in carrying out its medium-term strategic projects. Our minority position ensures our partners appropriate governance without interference in day-to-day management, while benefiting from the strength of a recognized group and the experience of a partner with a portfolio of more than 500 diversified holdings.
Press contacts:
Acorus Group: Romain Spinazzé – acorus@ilsedit.fr – 06 89 98 01 91 / Valérie Ramirez – valerie.ramirez@groupe-acorus.fr
NextStage AM: Jonathan Boudin – jbo@nextstage.com – 01 44 29 99 04
Shan: Laurence Tovi – laurence.tovi@shan.fr – 06 20 58 29 02 / Lola Gozlan – lola.gozlan@shan.fr – 06 24 76 83 40 / Anne-Laure Daulier – al.daulier@shan.fr – 06 28 59 50 38
BNP Paribas Développement: Céline Argy – celine.argy@bnpparibas.com – 06 64 46 60 46
