The Spanish firm Gala Capital, chaired by Carlos Tejera, has decided to transform its private equity structure into an asset management company for collective investment institutions, becoming the 117th of its kind in Spain. This transformation reflects its intention to manage hedge funds (known in Spain as fondos de inversión libre, or FIL), while maintaining its traditional private equity activities.
Gala Capital is known for investments in notable companies such as Jimmy Choo, Páginas Amarillas, Indra, Iberia, Ebro Foods, Famosa, Lanjarón, Cervezas Alhambra, Aurgi, FCC, Burger King, MásMóvil, and Secuoya.
In this new phase, the entity will keep the name Gala Capital Desarrollo and manage hedge funds, private equity funds, and closed-end collective investment entities. These products will be exclusively targeted at professional clients, who have greater experience and less regulatory protection. Iñigo González de Luna leads this area and serves as CEO.
This move follows the path of other major Spanish asset managers like Arcano and Altamar, which also transitioned from private equity firms to asset managers (SGIIC) several years ago.
Founded in Madrid in 1998, Gala Capital has completed over 80 transactions in two decades, focusing its investments on growth companies selected under socially responsible investment criteria. The firm believes that ethics and profitability can go hand in hand to deliver better returns.