Our investments
5 à Sec
Invest date
April 2001
Dry cleaning retail chain
ACTIVITY
5àSec was the world’s leading retailer in textile care services, with over 1,500 shops in 25 countries. The initial investment consisted of the global master franchise and a small portfolio of dry-cleaning outlets in France. As of December 2006, the company owned circa 200 corporate shops and operates master franchisees in 8 countries.
VALUE ADDED STEPS PLANNED
The company was strengthened by the addition of the Spanish, Swiss and Portuguese master franchises and by the purchase of more than 70 shops in France. These acquisitions formed part of a strategy to grow the business through the development of retail units in key sites and the purchase of strategic national franchises throughout Europe. In 2003, the group introduced a range of new textile treatment services and also mending services. 5àSec acquired its largest French franchisee (28 shops) in January 2006. The business was successfully sold in 2007 generating a 2.2 times money return on our original investment.
MANAGEMENT
The management team was led by Olivier Bédat CEO, who joined 5àSec in November 2001 from SGS. Olivier previously worked for Mister Minit and IBM. The group financial officer was Bart de Graaf, ex-IKEA and Habitat, who joined the group in September 2002.
5àSec adopted a regional organisational structure with country managers in France, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Hungary, Belgium, Luxembourg and China.
