"More than 150 companies in Navarra have received in recent years about 800 million euros from private capital". This was stated at the University of Navarra by José Zudaire, director general of association Spanish Capital, Growth and Investment (ASCRI), at the roundtable "What is Private Equity and Venture Capital and what is its impact in Navarra", organized by the academic center and Kreab Spain, a communications and public affairs consultancy.

Moderated by Luisa Alli, who in February will assume the executive presidency of the consulting firm, the meeting also counted with the participation of Miguel Zurita Goñi, Co-CIO PE at Altamar CAM Partners; José Javier Armendáriz, president/CEO of core topic Capital; and Nuria Osés, partner at GED Capital.

The speakers agreed in highlighting the "great moment" that the sector is experiencing and its growth potential. "We are talking about a sector that only accounts for 10% of market capitalization, but which has a worldwide market size of 8.4 trillion euros and which has grown eightfold in the last twenty years," said Miguel Zurita, of Altamar CAM Partners. director With regard to the radiography of private equity in Spain, the general manager of ASCRI, José Zudaire, pointed out that investment in Spain is in line with the European average , "with a portfolio of 33,519 million euros invested - 70% by international managers - in more than 3,000 companies, 90% of which are SMEs".

Health and food, attractive sectors

During the session, Miguel Zurita also made a first approach to private equity, "an increasingly important part of the financial system that channels money from savers to companies that are not listed on the stock exchange". Within this "alternative investment to traditional investment", José Javier Armendáriz, CEO of core topic Capital, spoke of the differences between Private Equity and Venture Capital. "While the former is dedicated to already consolidated operations that need financing to grow, Venture Capital is more focused on the concept of entrepreneurship and startups," he said, while referring to the health and food sectors as the most attractive for entrepreneurs.

Finally, Nuria Osés, partner at GED Capital, stressed the importance of raising awareness of private equity among entrepreneurs. "When an entrepreneur goes to apply for financing, he or she does not think of a private equity fund as the first option. It is true that we are doing more and more work at knowledge dissemination to make them aware of us, but we have to make them see that we are not only a viable option to provide funds, but also to help companies grow".