Epsor raises €20 million to become market leader in employee savings sector

Paris, May 25, 2021 - Epsor, a company specialized in employee and retirement savings plans founded in 2017 by Julien Niquet and Benjamin Pedrini, today announces its series B capital raise of €20M ($24.4M) led by Gaia Capital Partners. The British listed fund Augmentum Fintech, has also taken part in this round, realizing its first investment in France. This capital raise is the largest ever made by a fintech in the savings sector in France. Epsor’s historic shareholders, Partech and BlackFin Capital Partners, also participated in this new funding round, reaffirming their commitment and confidence in Epsor. The company intends to continue growing its key accounts and extending its range of services, particularly in the area of responsible savings. Epsor’s ambition is to become the preferred partner for all companies aiming to rekindle employee motivation through value sharing tools.

A tailored savings plan with improved performance

In an environment where 50% of employees do not believe they are capable of making independent choices for their investments and where four out of ten find employee savings plans difficult to understand1, Epsor is the first company offering a new-generation of employee savings and retirement solutions. Epsor combines technology and proximity to offer tailor-made financial advice to employees and meet their expectations thanks to its robo advisor and access to real financial advisors. 

Covering all types of company savings schemes available in France (employee savings plans, collective retirement savings plans, mandatory retirement savings plans), Epsor offers employees personalized advice, as well as an investment profile and tools to suit them and their objectives (security, yield, social and environmental impact, targeting of SMEs, etc.). 

“We support companies that already have employee and retirement savings plans and wish to offer tailor made support and advice to their employees as well as rekindle their motivation. Epsor allows its clients to modernize the approach while placing their employees at the heart of the process. We go beyond a purely transactional approach in order to provide a more personalized experience that allows savers to make the best possible decisions when it comes to financing their life plans,” said Benjamin Pedrini, co-founder of Epsor.   

Strong growth potential and drive to pursue bigger accounts

Epsor has built up a clientele of more than 400 companies across all sectors (advisory services, industry, financial institutions, distribution etc.) in a market dominated by a handful of institutional players. Following strong growth in 2020, the company continues to expand its client base and reinforce its market position amongst these competitors.

The €20M ($24.4M) funding will enable Epsor to address the specific needs of large corporations and accelerate its deployment. Company objectives include doubling its 60-person workforce by the end of the year and reaching more than € 1Bn ($ 1.2Bn) of outstanding collected over the next 12 months.

“The employee and retirement savings markets in France are huge and continue to grow at a fast pace,” said Julien Niquet, co-founder of Epsor. “Thanks to this significant increase in capital, our aim is to further develop and accelerate our activity within the large corporate sector, relying on our successful track record on the SME market. We are in a strong position to become the partner of choice for hundreds of thousands of employees.”

Commenting on the market’s growth potential, Julien Creuzé, partner at Blackfin Capital Partners, said: “The excellent 2020 results confirm the strength of Epsor’s business model, where the outstanding has multiplied by more than ten-fold since our initial investment in the summer of 2019. Blackfin Capital Partners is proud to back this high-growth fintech. We firmly believe that its financial educational tools and SRI product range offer the right differentiation and benefits to make an impact within a market for employee and retirement savings plans.”

Two new partners to complete Epsor's development path

At a time of increased awareness among savers about the need for responsible investment, Epsor is redefining the traditional savings market by selecting funds with managers that are committed to achieving this goal and by providing more transparency with regard to the sectors and companies they invest in.

This desire to commit to a more responsible savings strategy is embodied by the entry of new shareholder Gaia Capital Partners, a growth equity fund expert  in both ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and asset management, largely thanks to its partnership with Sycomore Asset Management.

“We were impressed by Epsor's market position and its growth as a key player in a sector undergoing a major transformation. It is thanks to the company’s focus on innovation and user experience that it has been able to transform employee and retirement savings plans into clear and attractive financial products that employees value. We truly believe in Epsor’s potential and are delighted to be supporting the team during its next phase of development,” declared Morgan Kessous, principal at Gaia Capital Partners.

Augmentum Fintech also trusted in Epsor’s team recognizing the substantial value it brings to companies and their employees:

“We are excited to be supporting Epsor in its mission towards becoming one of the leading providers of employee savings and retirement schemes. We were very impressed by the team, their differentiated open-ecosystem offering which has demonstrated higher financial performance versus peers, and their excellent platform. Additionally, we are looking forward to partnering with co-investors Gaia, Blackfin and Partech for our first French investment” Martyn Holman, Partner at Augmentum Fintech.

By attracting Augmentum Fintech as a shareholder, Epsor is welcoming on board a fund that specializes in the fintech market and can provide a precise overview of the sector at the European level.  

1 OpinionWay survey for Employee Savings Week, March 2020.

***

Figures and key information about Epsor 

• A new approach to performance-oriented employee savings and retirement solutions.
• Founded in 2017 by Julien Niquet and Benjamin Pedrini, the company has already raised close to €30M ($36.6M).
• Société Générale Group manages all financial flows, thus ensuring total security and full control over employee savings.
• Didier Valet, former deputy-CEO of the Société Générale Group joined Epsor's board of directors in July 2020 .
• The range of ‘open-architecture’ investments offered comprises independently selected asset managers such as Fidelity, Comgest, Lazard, La Financière de l’Echiquier, OFI Asset Management, etc.
• The company serves more than 40,000 savers and over 400 companies.

Find out more: www.epsor.fr

About Augmentum Fintech 

Augmentum invests in fast growing fintech businesses that are disrupting the financial services sector. Augmentum is the UK’s only publicly listed investment company focusing on the fintech sector in the UK and wider Europe, having launched on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018, giving businesses access to patient capital and support, unrestricted by conventional fund timelines and giving public markets investors access to a largely privately held investment sector during its main period of growth. Their portfolio of 21 fintech companies includes Tide, interactive investor, Grover, Zopa, Monese and Farewill.

About Partech
Born in San Francisco and Paris, Partech is one of the most active VCs in the world. Its team of former entrepreneurs and tech operators from 20 nationalities brings together capital, operational experience and strategic support for entrepreneurs at seed, venture and growth stages. In 2020, Partech invested in 82 startups across 24 countries in Europe, America, Africa and Asia.

About BlackFin Capital Partners
BlackFin Capital Partners is a fully independent private equity and venture capital firm focused on financial services in Europe. BlackFin manages 3 buyout funds and 1 venture fund (BlackFin Tech) for a total of €1.8bn under management. Since its final closing in 2018, BlackFin Tech invested in 15 of the fastest growing European fintechs and insurtechs. BlackFin Capital Partners’s 40 investment professionals are spread across 3 offices in Paris, Brussels, and Frankfurt.
For more information, go to our website, Twitter, or Medium.

About Gaia Capital Partners
Based in the heart of Europe, with our roots in two of the continent’s financial powerhouses - Paris and Berlin - Gaia Capital Partners is pan-European at heart. We invest in European growth-stage companies with global ambitions and sustainable leadership. We use our heart, soul and sweat to help them navigate the full life cycle from growth stage to IPO and beyond. We are a young, complementary and diverse team with entrepreneurial and private equity backgrounds. We build bridges between venture, private and public markets with our partner Sycomore Asset Management, a pioneer in responsible investment in public markets. We are sparring partners for entrepreneurs who are working to transform our world for the better. Our team has previously invested in companies that are doing just that, including: Aircall, GetAccept, gohenry, Welcome to the Jungle and Yubo.
www.gaiacap.co
Join us on Medium, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Press Contacts

Georgie Hazell, Augmentum Fintech 

+44 (0)7980 744 171

georgie@augmentum.vc

Sandra Cadiou, Gaia Capital Partners

+ 0033 6 82 58 90 20  

sandra.cadiou@scale-agency.com