value and opportunity

Following an annual tradition since 2013, by the end of the year, I review my portfolio by writing/updating very short summaries for each individual position.  17 of the 23 positions from last year are still in the portfolio and I have added 6 new positions. That turnover has been mostly driven by reviews and/or disappointing fundamental developments. 

I sold Fuchs, Amadeus Fire, Hermle, Royal Unibrew, Sto and Energiekontor.

A more comprehensive Performance review will follow in early January 2025.

A short user guide:
My preferred style of investing is a bottom up approach, focusing on 20-30 “Steady Eddy” small/midcap stocks that in my opinion have a good return/risk profile over the next 3-5 (or more) years. Many of these stocks are not household names and are unlikely to make spectacular gains in any single year. Many of them look interesting only after the second or third glance and are rather boring, which is exactly what I am looking for. So if you are looking for a “Hot stock for 2025”, this post won’t help you much. 

At the end of each “short pitch” I summarize my current assessment for the coming year(s).

And always remember: THIS IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. PLEASE DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.

The summaries of the previous years can be found here:

My 23(+1) Investments for 2025
My 22 (+1) Investments for 2024
My 23 Investments for 2023
My 28 Investments for 2022
My 21 (+6) Investments for 2021
My 20 investments for 2020
My 22(+1) Investments for 2019
My 21 investments for 2018
My 27 investments for 2017
My 27 investments for 2016
My 28 investments for 2015
My 24 investments for 2014
My 22 investments for 2013

Let’s go:

1. TFF Group (Holding period 15,0 years)

TFF is the “Last stock standing” from the initial portfolio 15 years ago. It is the world leading, family owned & run oak barrel manufacturer. Their official motto is “Time is on your side”. Has grown well over many years due to Asian demand for aged French wines and opportunistic acquisitions. Whisky barrels have added to growth for some time. After a couple of years of organically building US operations (Bourbon) from scratch, which required significant capital outlay and no sales. However, the continued weakness of both, the aged wine and Whisky market, is taking its toll. The company is relatively highly levered to the US capacity build up which makes it more vulnerable for a continued slump. In 2026 I will need to make up my mind if I want to hold this for another 5 years or not. “Watch”

2. G. Perrier (12,8 years)

French, family owned & run small cap, specialist for electric installations with a strong position in Nuclear maintenance. Continued growth despite economic headwinds. They added a new segment in 2021 (aerospace and defence) which is now contributing significantly. As many French small caps, 2024 led to a significant multiple compression. In 2025 there was a temporary slump in Nuclear maintenance but they used the opportunity to acquire a few interesting companies, among other with Data Center maintenance exposure. When I checked last time, they had more than 200 open positions (total employees 2000).. 2026 could look a lot better imo. “Long term Hold”.

3. Thermador (12,5 years)

Thermador is a French based, specialist construction supply distribution company with a focus on pumps and anything connected with water circulation. Distinct “outsider style” corporate culture with an emphasis on decentralized decision making and regular M&A activity. 2025 again has been tough for Thermador, with the French economy not recovering. The persistently high interest rates will make a full recovery in 2026 less likely. They still manage to earn decent margins which speaks to the quality of their business model. “Long term hold”.

4. Bouvet (11,4 years)

IT consulting company from Norway. When I bought the stock eleven years ago, the stock price previously had been hit hard by the oil price decline, Statoil was the largest client. The business and the stock showed a strong recovery since 2016. I was unsure about the stock in some years but the company kept growing. In early 2020, I sold half of the position (much too early of course). 2025 has not been so great from an organic growth point of view following a very strong 2025.  Compared to the quality of the business, the stock is not too expensive, but one needs to see what and if the impact of AI will be on their business model. “Hold”.

5. Partners Fund -MSA Capital (10,3 years)

An investment into a fund run by a very good friend. Mathias is a “Munger style” investor with a concentrated portfolio of “moaty” companies, many of them from the US. I think it is a good complimentary exposure for my investment style and he has been outperforming my portfolio by some percentage points per year until 2022 and once again in 2025. The fund has found a new home at the beginning of the year and for me is clearly a “Long term hold”.

6. Sixt AG Pref & Common shares (5,9 years)

Sixt is a company I have been admiring for a long time but never managed to “pull the trigger” to buy. Finally, during the dark days of Covid-19, I managed to build up a position in the cheaper pref shares. In 2025, the stock did relatively little despite a 25% increase in EPS. Which leaves the shares super cheap compared to the quality of the business.

“Long term hold, potentially add”.

7. Chapters Group (5,8 years)

Chapters is “Germany’s answer” to Constellation Software and/or “Mini Danaher” and has established a few platforms through which they acquire small businesses. The company again managed to sell shares to new investors at high share prices. The stock is clearly a bet on the Jokey Jan, whom I know since many years. In 2025 I once again had the pleasure to visit their investor day and annual shareholder meeting in Hamburg. After +50% in 2025, the current stock price clearly has future growth priced in, but still a “Long term hold”.

8. AOC Fund (4,4 years)

The second fund investment. This time into an “activist fund”, most famous because of its successful campaign on Stada some years ago. They take a pretty concentrated long term approach and actively work with/in company boards. Besides the really great long term performance, a goal is also to follow and trying to learn from them. After a very strong 2022, 2025 was the third, really weak year in a row. They made some investments which really raised my eyebrows such as Hello Fresh, Amadeus Fire and Gerresheimer where both, the stock selection and the timing were questionable.

Unfortunately, the Luxemburg structure is very disadvantageous from a Tax perspective as well. Gains get taxed at fund level and it takes ages to get the required documents which I need to file my own tax return.  “Under special review”.

9. Alimentation Couche-Tard (3,9 years)

ACT entered the portfolio in 2021 as one of my very few large cap investments. It was the rare chance to get into a high quality compounder at a reasonable valuation (13-14x trailing PE) almost 5 years ago. The company is famous for its decentralized, entrepreneurial culture and excellent capital allocation. After a failed bid for Carrefour, ACT had fallen out of favor with some investors which opened this opportunity. 202/2025 once again saw a failed bid for “Seven &I”, the Japanese Group owning the 7-11 brand. At some point in time I might have to “re-underwrite” as they also have a new CEO. On the positive side, especially in the US, EVs will take a lot longer to gain market share. “Hold/Review”.

10. DCC Plc (3,1 years)

At its core, DCC is a very unglamorous, mid-cap distribution company headquartered in Ireland and was operating via 3 different platforms (Energy, “Technology” and healthcare) around the globe and could be characterized as “serial acquirer”. Despite an extremely strong 20 year+ track record, the stock fell out of favour and traded at very attractive valuation levels. The main business, (fossile) Energy clearly has challenges, but DCC is addressing this actively in their strategy. As in 2023, Energy was the main driver of DCC’s business in 2024. They now have been executing their transformation strategy in 2025 including a major stock repurchase tender but with little positive impact on the share price. Rather the opposite. “Hold & Watch”.

11. SFS Group (1,9 years)

SFS Group was one of the first new additions in 2023. Swiss based SFS produces metal precision parts and also distributes tools for the machinery industry. They managed to acquire Hoffmann, a well known German tool distributor. I also like the culture with a big focus on the apprenticeship system. The CEO has started his career as an apprentice and worked his way to the top. The company did quite well despite a difficult environment in 2024. A Global presence with local manufacturing in all large markets is a plus. On the negative side, the Hoffmann acquisition has increased the exposure to the troubled European machinery sector. “Hold”.

12. Italmobiliare (2,4 years)

Italmobiliare doesn’t deal in real estate or furniture, as a bad translation might indicate, but is a Private Equity style investor into Italian “Quality” companies, run by the current head of the founding family. At the time of purchase, the stock traded at around 50% of intrinsic value and many of the portfolio companies, especially the larger ones like Coffee brand Borbone and high end perfume maker Santa Marie Novella have very good growth prospects. They held a very interesting capital markets day in 2025 which I was lucky to attend. . “Hold, potentially add”.

13. Laurent Perrier (2,4 years)

Laurent Perrier is also an 2023 addition, a small position that I see rather as part of a “stock collection”. Laurent Perrier is a pure play Champagne company with a long history, a very good brand and based on “post Covid” numbers looked quite cheap. 2025 once again was a tough year for Champagne and other alcoholic beverages, but Champagne is something that has been around for a long time and might stay relevant for an equally long time. The stock held up better than its larger “Alcohol peers” but still didn’t do great. Capital intensity is also an issue. “Hold”.

14. SAMSE Group (2 years)

SAMSE was my final 2023 addition. A french distributor of building materials that has been growing nicely for a long time and is majority owned by the founding families and the employees. Looking back, the timing was clearly very bad, although they made an interesting acquisition in France which should help them a lot, if and when the economy turns around. However, that turn around seems to be pretty far away these days. “Hold & Reviewe”.

15. Eurokai (1,9 years)

Eurokai, the German, family owned operator of various Container terminals was basically a replacement trade as Logistec, my Canadian Port operator got taken over. It was also my best purchase in 2024. Despite a complicated structure and low liquidity, Eurokai in my opinion is still a very attractive share as the valuation is extremely low and business has been doing very well. After a very decent 2025, 2026 could once ageon be even better plus there is a decent chance of an even higher dividend. I continued to buy more during the year, making it my largest position. “Hold”.

16. EVS Broadcast (1,5 years)

EVS Broadcast, the main “fruit” of my all Belgian Stocks series did slightly better than the first two 2024 purchases. EVS, a market leader in equipment required to produce live sports television/streaming has been gaining market shares in its market over the past years and has made some smart acquisitions. Management executes well and has increased the forecast 2 times in 2024. “uneven” years are usually a little bit weaker, but I am quite confident that they will continue to perform well. I made EVS over the year to one of my largest positions. “Long term hold”.

17. STEF SA (1,5 years)

STEF is another 2024 purchase, that despite being a French company, was not a total disaster. The company is the French leader in Cold chain warehouses and transportation and is expanding strategically across Europe. The company is owned mostly by family and employee shareholders and has a very defendable business model based on a strong “physical moat” of their network. 2025 was again not great with the weak economy, but STEF managed to acquire further adjacent business and in my opinion, will do well over time. For an “infrastructure like” company, the valuation is very moderate. “Long term hold”.

18. Jensen Group (1,0 years)

Jensen was my first new write-up in 2025. Listed in Belgium but originally from Denmark, Jensen is the World leader in fully automated “wet cleaning” laundry factories. 

Despite a decent development in the share price, the stock has gotten cheaper as profits have increased faster than the share price went up. They also did two interesting acquisitions in 2025, one in Germany and one in the US at the end of the year.. 

My second largest position and hopefully one for many years to come. “Long term hold”.

19. Robertet (0,9 years)

Robertet was my second purchase in 2025. Robertet is one of the smaller players in the Flavor & Fragrances market that is high oligolopolistic. However, they are focused on natural ingredients only which puts them more in the luxury space.

The stock price held up better than the big peers (Givaudan, Symrise, DSM Firmenich, IFF) in 2025 meaning that its relative under valuation has been equalized. 

Overall a very good company where I hope to add a little here and there in the future. “Long term hold, potentially add”

20. Bombardier (0,8 years)

Bombardier was an opportunistic investment when the Trump Administration declared their new tariffs on “Liberation day”. Inspired by my friend Govro I started a small position and thankfully increased it after the worst case (big tariffs on aerospace) didn’t materialize.

The company as such was in a turn-around situation and as it looks now, things have indeed turned around. After a spectacular run-up in 2025, the stock is not cheap anymore. In 2026 I will need to decide if I want to take some profits. “Hold, Under review”.

21. Fraport (0,6 years)

Fraport was a more “opportunistic” investment. The main asset of Fraport, Frankfurt Airport is clearly not performing well but could improve significantly over the next few years when the new Terminal 3 will be in full operation.

Especially the Greek and Turkish holiday airports run very well. Overall the expectation is that Capex has peaked and in the coming years, Free Cash flow will increase significantly and allow dividend payments and potentially buy backs that might lead to further share price increases.. “Mid term hold”.

22. Wise (0,2 years)

Wise was one of my newest editions. It is a UK based Fintech that revolutionizes FX transactions. I called it the “Costco of FX” as they are deliberately lowering their gross margins on an ongoing basis in order to let their competitors no space to breathe.

After gaining a lot of retail and small business clients, their current big growth driver is to strike partnerships with large banks such as Unicredit.

The stock is not cheap, but in my opinion they do have a long runway of growth and are managed very well. In addition, they plan an US listing in 2026 which could make the stock more popular. “Long term hold”. 

23. Compagnie Du Bois Sauvage

Compagnie Du Bois Sauvage is a Belgian HoldCo that I owned many years ago and bought as a “special situation” shortly before the end of the year as the company announced that they will refocus their activities with more information to come in March.

The main assets of Bois Sauvage are “high end” Chocolate brands, mainly Nauhaus and Jeff de Brugges as well as real estate and a collection of Belgian stocks and some Private Equity like investments.
It will be interesting to see what they announce in mArch but I think there is a good chance that the roughly 50% discount to the NAV could be reduced. “Short term Special situation”