Sectors

(Business Services)

The business development consultancy services sector is transforming the 21st century economy, as companies increasingly rely on key partners to deliver superior performance combined with significant cost savings. Our corporate development Services provides consultancy services to our clients.

As a large, diverse and rapidly-expanding sector, business services is driven by growth in the domestic and international economy, technological and process innovation, and the increasing prominence of outsourcing and off shoring. Business services can be essentially local in their delivery such as equipment rental or can be delivered by global networks to global clients such as hedge fund administration. In either case, the leading players distinguish themselves by building unique operational expertise across a few core areas and using fundamentally new operational approaches to serve customers, deploy technology and drive communication.

The companies partnered by AAFI GROUP are well-established businesses that work within four broadly-defined sub-sectors:

Industrials including a wide range of traditional manufacturers and outsourced industrial service providers.
Professional services leveraging intellectual capital to deliver knowledge services that range from consultancy to training.
Process outsourcing managing key operational functions for clients to deliver radical improvements in service quality and sharp reductions in cost.
Technology enabled services deploying state-of-the-art systems and platforms to bring efficiency and innovation to the heart of clients’ business activities.

It is an attractive partner for these businesses because of its: :
Established track record of investing across the services sector.
Global network which supports the creation of world-wide operators.

Access to experienced industrialists who are able to support entrepreneurial management teams.

(Media)

Media is a dynamic, wide-ranging sector. Most of the opportunities we see fall into three areas:
Broadcasting and entertainment including all forms of TV, radio, internet and mobile broadcasting, the creators and owners of content, and suppliers of allied services.
Publishing and information ranging from newspapers, through to directories and business information.
Marketing services services to marketing and advertising, including market research. Media markets are simultaneously global and local, distinct and linked. In this complex mix, one theme stands out: technology-driven change, and its huge impact on producers and consumers. New online operators have quickly gained market share in areas like recruitment advertising and information supply, to the detriment of traditional players. Meanwhile, the proliferation of new channels enables consumers to find just what they want, when, where and how they want it ending the mass audience and threatening traditional advertising models.

These trends bring uncertainty and will create winners and losers in every part of the sector. There is no simple recipe for success but the companies most likely to win are those which:

Build scale and efficiency: in a market like Europe that is still dominated by regional players, there is significant scope for consolidation, particularly in the B2B segment, where language and cultural issues are less of a barrier.
Originate or control ‘must-have’ content: as more and more channels compete for attention, consumers will choose those with the essential content placing the content owners in powerful positions.
Originate or control ‘must-have’ content: as more and more channels compete for attention, consumers will choose those with the essential content placing the content owners in powerful positions.
Successfully move from analogue to digital: above all, businesses need to understand how to adapt their model to the digital world and migrate effectively, taking customers and revenue streams with them.

(Technology)

Technology is a dynamic, varied industry that’s driving many of the changes we see in t he world today. It’s distinguished by its rapid pace and the potential for radical new departures. Following a pause in 2000-2003, technology businesses are once again growing quickly. It’s one of the few sectors where international borders have limited impact and a company can go from start-up to global giant in less than a decade.We are providing consistent support at all stages of the economic and technological cycles. We’ve worked with numerous entrepreneurs to turn innovative ideas into fast-growing revenue streams. The businesses we support operate in four main sub-sectors:
Software and Internet: Collaboration is often the theme, as specialist programs and networking websites enable people to work, socialize and trade together more effectively.
Telecoms: The world’s second-largest industry offers many opportunities to providers whose applications boost a range of processes from handset functionality to network management.
Electronics and semiconductors: As more and more devices become intelligent, many businesses are exiting commoditized manufacturing and focusing on the supply of added-value solutions.
IT services: Instead of simply operating clients IT infrastructure, service providers are now running key business processes. Consolidation and off shoring are building scale and efficiency.Our Expertise helps us understand emerging trends, our Nordic network puts us at the heart of developments in mobile technology, and provide knowledge of the latest manufacturing techniques. We use these insights to benefit the businesses we partner globally and we help companies grow by introducing them to new customers, partners and sources of innovation.

(Oil, Gas and Power)
We focus on supplying growth capital to expanding businesses and buying existing businesses with growth potential. On a selective basis, we also make early-stage venture investments in exciting oilfield
technologies.

The upstream sector has two main elements:
Exploration and production (E&P) companies discover, develop and produce hydrocarbons, own and license reserves, and finance and manage operations.
Oil services are mostly contracted out to a large and broad sector, which provides products, people and technology for all elements of drilling, construction and production.We also invest in the midstream gas and power sector, which includes companies that generate, store and transmit energy. The changing dynamics of the industry are creating numerous opportunities for private equity to support entrepreneurial companies with ambitious management:
The oil, gas and power service industry is showing strong growth driven by increasing global energy demand.
High oil prices are here for the foreseeable future, driven by economic growth in Asia.
Reserves are concentrated in the Middle East and Russia, benefiting those who can operate there successfully.
Elsewhere, the industry is fragmenting as established producing areas like the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and South East Asia mature.Elsewhere, the industry is fragmenting as established producing areas like the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and South East Asia mature.
(Consumer)
We focus our consumer investing in 4 key areas: food & beverages, leisure, retail and consumer goods. Each of these segments are effected by a number of global and economic factors including rising levels of general wealth and an aging population in most markets. Most spectacularly we are seeing the rise of a new consumer class in India and China. In India alone there is a middle class of some 400m people.

In addition many consumer markets are seeing some strong trends.
Time poor consumers seeking convenience.
A desire for a healthier, more natural and environmentally friendly lifestyle.
A polarization of markets between high end brands and value brands with the middle being squeezed