Franz Hoerhager

Franz Hoerhager is the founding partner, chairman and CEO of Accession Capital Partners (ACP), the Vienna-based investment firm he established in 2000 under the name Mezzanine Management Central Europe. He pioneered private-debt/mezzanine finance in the CEE region, and over 20-plus years the firm has invested more than €1bn (over €1.3bn including its latest vehicles) into 60+ companies across roughly 12 countries and five dedicated funds. The firm's fifth fund, AMC V SCA SICAV-RAIF, closed at €336m — its largest to date. At launch, Mezzanine Management was sponsored by industry veterans including Rory Brooks (co-founder of London's MML Capital Partners) and the CQ Investment Group.

Before founding the firm, Hoerhager built a long banking career. From 1992 to 1999 he was a Managing Director at Bank Austria (now part of UniCredit), responsible for commercial banking and international network management, and from 1997 he served on the bank's managing board. Earlier, he held various roles in the international division of Creditanstalt-Bankverein, including deputy general manager of the Creditanstalt branch in New York, and he also spent time working in London. He has described formative early experiences ranging from a stint as a driver/chauffeur in Vienna to working in the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and early 1980s — experiences he credits with shaping his conviction that CEE is a region of opportunity rather than simply risk.

Hoerhager holds a Master's degree and a Doctorate in Economics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Wien / Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien). He is a frequent speaker and commentator on CEE investing (e.g., the Central & Eastern European Forum and 0100 Conferences) and has publicly emphasized integrating ESG principles into ACP's investment process.

• Invests in profitable, growing mid-market companies in CEE, providing mezzanine debt and associated private-equity/growth capital to bridge the gap "between senior loans and equity."
• Backs businesses that want to scale organically and through acquisition (buy-and-build), rather than early-stage bets.
• Sector-agnostic but active in healthcare/medical services (POLMED, Dental Elite), manufacturing, consumer goods, IT, and specialty financial services (eFaktor factoring).
• Geography is the core edge: focuses on EU-accession countries (2004/2007) — Poland as the anchor market, with growing activity in Croatia and the Adriatic.
• Stated view: *"One of the key challenges investors face in CEE isn't risk — it's a lack of familiarity."* He argues CEE should be seen as a region of opportunity, and champions ESG/sustainability as a proactive part of ACP's strategy.