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Private Equity FundAllocates capital directlyActive · deal in last 18 monthsLAST VERIFIED Oct 2026 · 20 SOURCES

IR-Capital (Inter-Risco)

Also known as IR Capital SCR S.A., Inter-Risco – Sociedade de Capital de Risco, S.A., Inter-Risco

Porto/Cascais private equity manager (IR Capital SCR, founded 1988 as Inter-Risco); €256.5M in funds; growth, buy-out, build-up, secondaries and structured equity in Portuguese mid-caps.

HEADQUARTERS
Porto, Portugal
FOUNDED
1988
AUM
€256.5M (2026)
OUTSIDE CAPITAL
Yes
TEAM LISTED
7 people

FOCUS

STAGES
GrowthBuyout
SECTORS
EducationFood & AgricultureIndustrial & Manufacturing
ASSET MIX
Private equityDirect investments
GEOGRAPHY
Portugal

WHAT IT IS

Private Equity Fund. A fund manager investing limited-partner capital into mature private companies.

ABOUT

IR Capital SCR S.A., formerly Inter-Risco, is a private equity manager with offices in Porto and Cascais. Inter-Risco was formed in 1988 by Banco Português de Investimento (BPI) with 3i, the IFC and Crédit Lyonnais among other institutional investors, raised its first third-party fund (Caravela) in 2003, and in November 2022 Juan Carlos Félix and Hussein Semedah acquired control of the firm. It reports €256.5M of capital under management across Fundo Alqueva and Fundo Audere (€40M each, 2024, secondaries and special situations in infrastructure and critical logistics), Fundo Inter-Risco Consolidar (€65M, 2023, growth/expansion in education, agribusiness, health and infrastructure) and the divesting Fundo Inter-Risco II (€81.5M, 2010) and Inter-Risco II CI (€30M, 2013). Its strategies are secondaries, K-12 education and structured equity with downside protection.

INVESTMENT THESIS

Opportunistic Portuguese mid-market private equity: secondaries bought at attractive valuations, consolidation in resilient sectors such as K-12 education, and minority structured-equity deals with minimum-return protection and contractual exits; avoids complex turnarounds.

PORTFOLIO (12)

  • Colégio OceanusNOTABLE
    Education · since 2024
  • ExpressGlassNOTABLE
    since 2016 · Acquired by Cary Group (2022)
  • ChipideaNOTABLE
    Deep Tech · since 2003 · Acquired by MIPS Technologies (2007)
  • Aquaterra
    Food & Agriculture · since 2025
  • Veracruz
    Food & Agriculture · since 2025
  • Atis Group
    since 2025
  • Escolas João Paulo II
    Education · since 2024
  • Tickles International School
    Education · since 2024
  • Just Stay Hotels
    since 2013
  • ENC Energy
    since 2013
  • Mecwide
    Industrial & Manufacturing · since 2013 · Exited (founder buyback, 2023)
  • OneVet Group
    since 2012 · Exited (trade sale, 2022)

TEAM

  • Juan Carlos Félix
    Partner · source
  • Hussein Semedah
    Partner · source
  • Isabel Martins
    Investment Director · source
  • Manuel Mexia
    Executive Management for Education · source
  • Paulo Silva
    Senior Associate · source
  • Marta Sousa
    Financial Analyst · source
  • Silvia Almeida
    Chief Financial Officer · source

LINKS

FAQ

IR-Capital (Inter-Risco) is a private equity fund based in Porto, Portugal, founded in 1988.

Yes. IR-Capital (Inter-Risco) invests directly in private companies. It also commits capital to third-party funds as an LP.

IR-Capital (Inter-Risco) invests at Growth and Buyout stages in Education, Food & Agriculture and Industrial & Manufacturing.

Key people at IR-Capital (Inter-Risco) include Juan Carlos Félix (Partner), Hussein Semedah (Partner), Isabel Martins (Investment Director) and Manuel Mexia (Executive Management for Education).

IR-Capital (Inter-Risco)'s investments include Colégio Oceanus, ExpressGlass, Chipidea, Aquaterra, Veracruz, Atis Group, Escolas João Paulo II and Tickles International School, among others.

The most recent publicly reported investment by IR-Capital (Inter-Risco) is Aquaterra (Expansion (3.5% stake)), announced in Sep 2025.

Yes. IR-Capital (Inter-Risco) manages capital from outside investors.