Thomas Wetzer – Managing Director, Jebsen Capital
Any investment involves a certain amount of risk, but thorough preparation enhances the probability of success.
I was used to giving this advice to clients while working for a global management consulting firm for over four years. It was in August 2017 when I felt I had personally prepared myself for my next career step. So I decided to move on, from merely consulting to wholly focusing on investments as Managing Director at Jebsen Capital—the new business line of the Jebsen Group.
For me, my role at Jebsen Capital is a great opportunity to broaden my investment know-how in the context of the dynamic and exciting Greater China market. It also comes with its unique challenges: driving and being accountable for investment projects in the long term is different from advising clients on consulting projects for only a limited period of time. At Jebsen Capital, our work focuses on continuously capturing growth opportunities in new areas, as well as ensuring sustainability for the Group’s existing business portfolio.
An interesting facet of my work at Jebsen Capital is deal sourcing. As a team, we identify and analyse potential investment ideas and present them to the Investment Committee for approval. Investment referrals are critical to us because they give us access to proprietary investment opportunities that promise financial returns as well as operational synergies without paying unreasonable valuation multiples. Thankfully, the Jebsen Group has a strong internal and external business network. This becomes evident in the valuable referrals that we continue to receive from various channels.
It was one of these referrals that recently led us to invest in MiniCC. MiniCC is an operator of self-storage facilities in Shanghai. Since we invested in December 2017, we have been working hard together with our industry specialist team and the MiniCC management to capture the growth potential of the business and the industry. We are supporting MiniCC on various dimensions such as real estate, finance, marketing, and strategy—all core competencies of the Jebsen Group.
Jebsen Capital is still a young business line. A sense of shared purpose, in combination with a clear direction will hopefully allow our team to contribute to the Group’s success. I am glad that I have accepted this challenge (which includes learning Mandarin…). It has been a highly rewarding decision not only because I continue to broaden my personal skill set in a great team setup, but also because it connects me to the bigger goals and to the progressive growth of this remarkable company.