CapMan Infra invests in Napier, a leading provider of critical transportation infrastructure for the aquaculture industry

CapMan Infra has agreed to invest in Napier, the largest salmon harvest vessel operator in Norway and a leading harvest vessel specialist globally. The company has a fleet of six vessels and serves the world’s largest aquaculture companies.

Napier was established in 1995 and is the first harvest vessel specialised shipowner in the world, active in the segment since 2008. Headquartered in Bømlo, Norway, Napier employs approx. 75 people.

Harvest vessels are used for the processing and transportation of grown salmon from farms at sea to onshore facilities. The adoption of such vessels is expected to increase, as harvest vessels secure the best fish welfare, improved biosecurity and increased transport efficiency. Fish mortality during transportation can be fully eliminated using harvest vessels, while CO2 emissions per kg of transported fish can be substantially reduced. The enhanced biosecurity offered by harvest vessels also reduces the risk of spreading of disease to both farmed and wild fish.

The sector is underpinned by strong macro-trends, including growing global protein consumption and demand for farmed salmon. More than 50% of the global salmon supply is farmed in Norway and the activity is closely regulated by authorities, which supports the use case for harvest vessels.

Napier is currently owned by the company’s key personnel, together with Amar Group and Kverva. Key personnel are reinvesting alongside new majority owner CapMan Infra.

“We are highly impressed with the service quality Napier can deliver to its clients, and believe the company has significant further growth potential. The business also has strong infrastructure characteristics and provides mission-critical services to ensure the safe supply of food. We look forward to supporting Napier in growing the business”, says Pekko Haaksluoto, Partner at CapMan Infra.

“We are happy to have concluded the process with CapMan Infra and to have them as our new majority owner. CapMan Infra has impressed us with their commitment to the harvest vessel concept and continued support for a high-quality service offering to our current and future customers. Having CapMan Infra as our new majority owner provides a solid foundation for further growth and development and we are very excited about the future of Napier alongside our new owner”, says Kjetil Tufteland, CEO of Napier.

The investment is CapMan Nordic Infrastructure II fund’s second investment. The investment will promote environmental and social characteristics as defined for the fund. Overall, Napier promotes improved biosecurity and fish welfare in the salmon farming industry and reduces the GHG emission footprint per kg of harvested salmon compared to available alternatives in the market, i.e. traditional wellboats.

About CapMan

CapMan is a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation. We offer a wide selection of investment products and services. As one of the Nordic private equity pioneers, we have developed hundreds of companies and real estate assets and created substantial value in these businesses and assets over the past 30 years. With over €5 billion in assets under management, our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors. We have a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. Our investment strategies cover Private Equity, Real Estate and Infra. We also have a growing service business that includes procurement services. Altogether, CapMan employs around 190 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London and Luxembourg. We are a public company listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2001 and a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2012.