Kartesia is pleased to announce a follow-on investment in leading food-service business Compañia del Trópico, renewing its support in the company in its second phase of growth. 

Following its original investment in 2014, Kartesia has worked closely with main shareholder HIG Capital and management to provide a unitranche financing of over €40m. This allows the Company to repay the original Kartesia Credit Opportunities financing and also to capitalise on its market leading position to continue with its successful expansion in the Spanish market through its three main complementary brands:  Café & Té, Café & Tapas and Panaria.

As communicated to the market, the recently launched Kartesia Senior Opportunities investment strategy looks to provide senior financing solutions to European small and medium-sized companies with strong credit profiles, a profile that Compañia del Trópico matches. 

Acquired in 2014 by HIG, Compañia del Trópico is a leading multi-brand coffee-shop and fast casual dining operator in Spain with 25 years’ history and the largest network of fully owned premises in the growing and fragmented Spanish food-service market. The investment from Kartesia will further strengthen the Company’s capital resources while also enabling additional growth. 

Jaime Prieto, Managing Partner at Kartesia, commented: “We are excited to be working with Compañia del Trópico and HIG again as the company looks to continue its impressive growth and increase its share of the Spanish market. This investment from our senior lending fund is a clear demonstration of the flexibility of Kartesia’s capital solutions and our deep credit expertise.”