Former French minister Renaud Dutreil to head investment fund operating on luxury market in France and Europe

The former French Minister of Small & Medium-Sized Businesses, Renaud Dutreil, will head an investment fund focusing on French and European SMEs which have exclusive expertise in the luxury sector, under the aegis of two hundred year-old Swiss financial group Mirabaud.

In a press release, Mirabaud wrote that its Asset Management division has entrusted Dutreil with implementing a capital investment strategy for the "first themed investment fund dedicated to living heritage companies in the luxury and lifestyle industries," which was launched last Tuesday.

Dutreil will be based in Paris and will be assisted by Luc-Alban Chermette, notably the President of private equity firm La Vélière Capital between 2010 and 2016.

The new investment fund "will allow family-run SMEs operating in France, as well as in Switzerland, Italy and other European countries, which have been in business for at least 50 years, to receive support for their international expansion and innovation strategies," according to the press release.

A first funding round worth €50 million is under way, the new fund targeting a total of €150 million by the end of this year.

As Minister of Small & Medium-Sized Businesses, Renaud Dutreil set up the 'living heritage company' certification in France, and implemented measures to facilitate the financing and buying out of SMEs in the country.

He was also President North America for luxury goods giant LVMH for four years, and a member of the board of directors of LVMH's L Catterton Europe investment fund for several years. He has invested personally in several enterprises.

The Mirabaud group was founded in Geneva in 1819, and its staff of 700 specialists currently operates in portfolio management, investment consulting, institutional asset management, brokering and mergers and acquisitions.