Clifford Chance advises Bridgepoint, Partners Group and Vermaat management on the intended sale of Vermaat to Compass

23 July 2025

Gregory Crookes, Tim Heerschop, Sebastiaan van Steenbergen , Wouter Fonteijn, Bruno Weisser Lopez, Jurre Jurriëns, Katharine Missenden, Sandeep Ravikumar, Michiel Sunderman, Stern Flik, Alec Sanderson, Floris van de Bult , Astrid van Ommeren, Najib Muslem, Mark-Jan Arends , Sabrina Spoor, Nolan Groenland, Boudewijn Vermeer, Arezo Zarbaf, Genia Baardman, Richard Nowak, Lucia Alegre, Merle van den Berg, Wijnanda Rutten, Liesbeth Buiter, Lotte De Bruin, Charlotte Spierings, Roel de Jong, Charlotte Smit, Bart Warringa, Alexandra Demai, Andrei Mikes, Tamlin Higgins, Anselm Raddatz, Ribana Piontek, Tobias Jenne, Gunnar Sachs, Annabel Joschko, Niklas Heinkes, Pia-Sophie Weber, Marc Besen, Dimitri Slobodenjuk, Alexander Stemmler, Mara Gnanko, Simon Reitz, Nico Köhler, Ines Keitel, Susanne Julis, Linda Tahiri, Lancelot Arenberg, Laura Spohn, Holger Lutz, Michael Kümmel, Stephanie Giek, Sandeep Ravikumar, Alice Butcher, Rachel Robertson, Alexandre Balducci, Katia Gauzès, Giulia Sentenac, Manvel Arutunyan, Marion Tual, Louis-Auguste Barthout, Hélène Kouyaté, Sophie Laporte, Thomas Jardin, Florence Aubonnet, Susan Ekrami, Eulalie Métier, Eva Feurtet, Awa Dé, Antoine Beaux, , Samuel Sellam, Patrice Navarro, Alexandre Manasterski, Jérémy Guilbault
Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Paris, London, Luxembourg

Clifford Chance advises Bridgepoint, Partners Group and Vermaat management on the intended sale of Vermaat to Compass

Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised Bridgepoint, one of the world’s leading quoted private asset growth investors, as well as Partners Group and Vermaat's management team, on the intended sale of Vermaat Groep B.V. ('Vermaat'), the Netherlands-based premium catering and hospitality services provider, to Compass Group PLC ('Compass'), a global leader in food services, in a transaction that values the company at an enterprise value of c. €1.5 billion.

Bridgepoint will fully exit its holding, alongside Partners Group (acting on behalf of its clients), which first acquired Vermaat in 2015 and remained a minority shareholder after Bridgepoint’s investment in 2019 – both transactions on which Clifford Chance has previously advised. Since Bridgepoint’s investment, Vermaat has transformed into a clear European leader, doubling its revenue to c.€700 million by year end and serving 700+ locations across multiple sectors. Under Bridgepoint’s ownership, Vermaat brought its proven Dutch model into France and Germany, building scale through selective acquisitions and operational improvements. The Vermaat management team will join Compass on completion and will continue operating the business on a standalone basis, whilst leveraging the benefits of being part of a larger group.

Gregory Crookes, Partner, comments: "We're proud to have advised on a third landmark transaction for Vermaat, highlighting the strength of our longstanding relationship with the company and its shareholders, and our role as trusted strategic advisor on cross-border, complex and high-value deals.”

The sale is subject to consultation of the Dutch Works Council, approval from relevant regulatory authorities and completion. Read more about the transaction here and here.

The cross-border core transaction team of Clifford Chance is led by Gregory Crookes and Tim Heerschop and includes Sebastiaan van Steenbergen, Wouter Fonteijn, Bruno Weisser Lopez, Laura Bredschneijder, (Corporate), Jurre Jurriëns, Katharine Missenden, Sandeep Ravikumar, Claire Blaisdell, Fiorri Michael (Antitrust), Michiel Sunderman, Stern Flik, Alec Sanderson (Tax), Floris van de Bult, Astrid van Ommeren, Najib Muslem, Inge de Bruin (Employment), Mark-Jan Arends and Sabrina Spoor (Notary).

The wider team consists of Nolan Groenland (Tax), Boudewijn Vermeer, Arezo Zarbaf, Genia Baardman, Jelle Kremers (Global Financial Markets), Laura Dolstra, Richard Nowak, Lucia Alegre, Marguérite Elias, Amber Breugem (Corporate), Merle van den Berg (Employment), Wijnanda Rutten (Pensions), Liesbeth Buiter, Lotte de Bruin, Liselotte Hommels (Real Estate), Charlotte Spierings, Roel de Jong, Charlotte Smit, Bart Warringa, Alexandra Demai (Litigation & Dispute Resolution), Andrei Mikes, Tamlin Higgins and Viola Lam (Tech//Digital) in Amsterdam, Anselm Raddatz, Ribana Piontek, Tobias Jenne (Corporate), Gunnar Sachs, Annabel Joschko, Niklas Heinkes, Pia-Sophie Weber (Corporate), Marc Besen, Dimitri Slobodenjuk (Antitrust), Alexander Stemmler and Mara Gnanko (Employment) in Düsseldorf, Simon Reitz, Nico Köhler (Global Financial Markets), Ines Keitel, Susanne Julis, Linda Tahiri (Employment), Lancelot Arenberg, Laura Spohn (Real Estate), Holger Lutz, Michael Kümmel and Stephanie Giek (Tech//Digital) in Frankfurt, Kirti Mehta (Antitrust), Alice Butcher (Corporate), Rachel Robertson (Global Financial Markets) and Alexandre Balducci (Tech//Digital) in London, Katia Gauzès and Giulia Sentenac (Corporate) in Luxembourg, Manvel Arutunyan, Marion Tual (Corporate), Louis-Auguste Barthout, Hélène Kouyaté, Sophie Laporte, Thomas Jardin (Global Financial Markets), Florence Aubonnet, Susan Ekrami, Eulalie Métier, Eva Feurtet (Employment), Awa Dé, Antoine Beaux, Hugo Feraud (Litigation & Dispute Resolution), Samuel Sellam (Real Estate), Patrice Navarro, Alexandre Manasterski and Jérémy Guilbault (Tech//Digital) in Paris.