Former KKR execs in first close on new fund

All Seas Capital, which is raising its first fund, has collected €330 million at first close according to a source close to the fundraising. The firm itself declined comment.

The firm was founded by Marc Ciancimino and Cristobal Cuart, who co-founded and led KKR‘s European mezzanine and preferred equity business. It is targeting a €500 million final close in the summer.

Based in London, All Seas operates on a pan-European basis, providing long-term financing solutions for mid-cap companies. The firm looks to work with entrepreneurs and family owners who need strategic capital but do not want to sell majority stakes.

It provides a mixture of equity and debt, offering equity-like returns with debt-like structural protection and aims to help companies that have achieved a certain amount of scale to move to the next stage of growth. The strategy is similar to that which the two founders ran at KKR, where they invested in the likes of payments business WorldPay and paint company Farrow & Ball.

All Seas targets deal sizes of between €20 million and €75 million, backing businesses with EBITDA of between €5 million to €50 million. The firm has already deployed €120 million into its first two deals, backing optician Hakim Opticians Group and financial planning business Attivo Group, both based in the UK.