Valcon welcomes new majority investor to drive European growth ambition

European consulting firm Valcon has welcomed Rivean Capital as a new investor, with the aim to drive the company’s next phase of growth.

Amsterdam-headquartered Rivean Capital, which has over €5 billion of assets under management, has taken a majority stake in Valcon for an undisclosed sum. The deal also sees Waterland, which supported Valcon’s growth acceleration over the past five years, re-invest in the consulting group.

Valcon was founded in 2006, initially as First Consulting. In the years up to 2019, the firm established itself as one of the leading consultancies in the Dutch market. The arrival of Waterland in 2019 (which then took a majority stake but has now transitioned to a minority stake) kicked-off a campaign of steep growth driven by internationalisation, diversification of services, and inorganic bolt-ons.

Fast forward to today, and Valcon is five times the size it was five years ago (in staff numbers). The firm has over 1,600 consultants in the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany and Croatia.

Commenting on the firm’s next chapter, Valcon chief executive Geert van den Goor said: “We are thrilled to join forces with Rivean Capital in this exciting new chapter for Valcon. This partnership marks a significant milestone in our journey to become the benchmark for digital transformation in Europe. With Rivean’s support, we are well-positioned to amplify our impact and achieve our ambitious goals for organic and acquisitive growth.”

With Rivean Capital’s backing, Valcon plans to “further expand its services, invest in cutting-edge solutions and strengthen its position in key markets.” The focus of the expansion will be on Northwestern Europe.

“We are delighted with the opportunity to partner with Valcon’s management team and contribute to the company’s further expansion,” said Hidde Vedder, partner at Rivean Capital. “Valcon has a great reputation for delivering transformative results for its clients and we are excited to be working with them to provide support to further scale their operations and unlock new opportunities in the European market.”