The new fund of investor Tilleghem and the family offices of entrepreneurs Jan Clarebout and Pascal Vanhalst is stepping into the capital of East Flanders-based Aptco Group, an expert in laboratory equipment.

In the middle of last year, it was announced that Sint-Martens-Latem-based investment company Tilleghem would set up a new €60 million investment fund called Tilleghem Capital I. It was created by Tilleghem partners Piet Van Waes, Joachim Depuydt, Lieselot Peeters and Guy Goossens and co-financed by the family offices of well-known entrepreneurial investors Jan Clarebout (Peruna) and Pascal Vanhalst (Quva Invest).

Clarebout earned his fortune at the eponymous potato processing company and Vanhalst at TVH, the forklift parts specialist. Peruna was founded only a year ago, Quva Invest has been around longer. Tilleghem management is also bringing in money. Antwerp customs specialist DKM was the new fund's first investment last year.

Minority stake

Now there is a second transaction with Aptco Group from East Flanders' Nazareth. Tilleghem Capital I is taking ‘a significant minority stake’ in the firm, but how big it is the parties will not disclose. The sellers are Danny Pattyn and Jan De Munck, who founded Aptco Group in 2001. The group grew into an international technology player dedicated to the distribution, production, maintenance and calibration of scientific equipment.

Aptco Group has some 180 employees and achieves a turnover of more than EUR 50 million. The associated profitability is not immediately clear: consolidated figures of Aptco Group are not public. The East Flanders-based company operates in Belgium and eight other countries, including its main neighbours and Turkey.

Acquisitions
Pattyn and De Munck see the merger with the fund as the logical next step in their growth plan. That step should lead to an accelerated acquisition strategy. The entrepreneurs built Aptco Group with a mix of independent growth and acquisitions. In 2023, for instance, there was the acquisition of Schaefer-Tec, which operates in German-speaking Europe, among others. Late last year, there was also the sale of Belgian-Dutch Sopachem to management.

Aptco Group is an expert in the distribution of high-quality scientific instruments and equipment for laboratories. It also designs and manufactures several niche products itself. Furthermore, it provides services such as calibration of measuring equipment, maintenance and repairs and technical support. Research labs, hospitals, universities and industry are among its customer base.

De Tijd, 14 maart 2025