Back- Marguerite to invest up to EUR 50m in Norwegian Wattif EV AS (Wattif) operating electric vehicle charging points across Europe
- Marguerite becomes the majority shareholder through its latest fund, Marguerite III
- Wattif is operating several hundreds of charging points after a year of operations and targets 120,000 in the next decade
Luxembourg/Bergen, 5 January 2023 – The pan-European infrastructure investor Marguerite becomes the majority shareholder in Wattif after completing its investment on 28th December 2022. Marguerite will invest up to EUR 50m and add Wattif to the portfolio of its latest fund, Marguerite III.
The investment proceeds will fund Wattif’s electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure deployment plan throughout Europe. Wattif’s founders and management will remain shareholders alongside Marguerite.
Wattif is a charging point operator specialising in destination charging, i.e. installing charging infrastructure in locations where EV drivers spend several hours, such as hotels and underground car parks. Wattif has secured exclusivity with car park owners and operators managing over one million parking spaces in Sweden and Norway and plans to rapidly expand in other European countries, including Denmark, Germany, Austria and Ireland. It currently operates several hundreds charging points and aims to reach 120,000 in the next decade.
“This investment allows us to enter a new sub-sector featuring significant growth potential underpinned by the strong EV uptake in Wattif’s target markets”, said Michael Dedieu, Managing Partner at Marguerite. “The EV charging sector benefits from a combination of government support, positive environmental regulation, a robust underlying market trend and a rapidly evolving technology”.
Electric vehicles capture a significant and growing market share in new car registrations, particularly in Wattif’s target countries: Norway was already the global market leader in 2021, and by 2035 all new vehicles in Wattif’s target countries are expected to be electric.
This investment by Marguerite III aligns with Marguerite’s strategy to finance low-emission transport solutions, such as Marguerite II’s investment in the intermodal freight transport operator GTS in 2021. Furthermore, it will support the EU’s commitment to decarbonise the transport sector and shift to zero-emission mobility.
“We strongly believe in Wattif’s strategy to target the destination charging segment in countries leading the way for electric vehicle adoption. We look forward to working with Wattif’s founders and management to accelerate the deployment of charging infrastructure and enable Wattif to become one of the leading providers in Europe”, said Michael Dedieu.
“This investment underlines our long-term strategy, rewards our European team on a successful 2022, and, importantly, as we look to grow, highlights how the Wattif EV Board and operational teams in the field are aligned and focused. Marguerite is an influential, high-quality infrastructure investor that wants to see operational delivery of strong and sustainable strategy, and a passion for driving profit whilst changing consumer behaviour. Wattif EV lives by these standards said, Robert Svendsen, CEO of Wattif EV.
“Marguerite’s investment is of significant value to Wattif at a pivotal time for us, European EV legislation, and EV transport requirements. The timing is perfect and helps Wattif in enabling change now and will therefore be of influence in delivering sustainable driving behaviour and contributing to net zero targets. It is vital that car buyers have their barriers to EV ownership removed and destination chargers are pivotal in the battle to both reduce emissions and support European governments’ ambitions to remove petrol and diesel new car purchases by 2030. Marguerite recognised our position as both an innovator and a deliverer in this programme, with large potential for growth,” said Bård Mikkelsen, Wattif’s Chairman of the board.
Marguerite was advised by Danske Bank (M&A), DLA Piper (legal), P3 (technical and commercial), EY (financial and tax) and Willis Tower Watson (insurance).