TORONTO, June 20, 2023 – The Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) today celebrates its five year anniversary since the start of its national mandate to help entrepreneurs access the capital and guidance they need to drive growth and expansion for their high potential mid-market Canadian businesses.

“It feels like just yesterday that CBGF was celebrating its launch with a small founding team in place and a lot of unknowns of what would come in the years to follow,” explains George Rossolatos, CEO & Managing Partner.  “Looking back after five years, I am humbled and honoured to lead our team, which is now comprised of over 20 passionate individuals who along with our partners, the leading financial institutions in Canada, are passionate about filling the growth capital gap.”

CBGF’s mission is to invest between $5 million and $20 million in dynamic, mid-market companies with $5 million or more in annual revenue, and a clear vision for accelerated growth. The fund provides Canadian companies with patient, minority capital, guidance and a made-in-Canada solution that keeps entrepreneurs in control of their businesses.

“Over the last five years we have witnessed and been fortunate enough to have met over 2,000 of Canada’s exceptional entrepreneurs and companies with the potential to scale. Among the vast majority, there has been a common theme driving many of our conversations, and that’s a lack of patient, minority capital and advice to help these Canadian companies scale.” The challenge of accessing growth capital in Canada was highlighted in a report from the Minister of Finance’s Advisory Council for Economic Growth in 2017, which advocated for the creation of a private sector-led growth fund to provide minority investments in established and high-growth Canadian businesses while contributing to a vibrant, innovative and diversified economy. In response, Canada’s leading banks and insurance companies came together to form CBGF, a private sector fund with capital commitments of $545 million.

Since 2018, CBGF has invested in 31 promising Canadian companies from coast to coast with geographic operations spanning all 10 provinces with headquarters across eight.  Many of CBGF’s portfolio companies have made a mark on the global stage, with operations in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia and employ over 6,000 people globally. As an industry-agnostic fund, CBGF’s portfolio represents a cross-section of the Canadian economy including investments in the waste management, healthcare, education, software, auto-collision repair, technology, and oil & gas industries among other sectors.

In addition, CBGF has continued to support its partners’ growth, completing over 25 follow-on investments to date. With CBGF’s support, its portfolio companies have created over 2,000 new jobs in Canada, contributing to a prosperous economy. CBGF has also successfully exited three of its investments, supporting the management teams that have decided to sell on their own timeline.

“As founding CEO, George assembled a strong team, built the infrastructure for launch, and began to build CBGF’s investment portfolio in a remarkably short period of time. Consistent with the fund’s mission, investments are across Canada and across industries and are demonstrating positive results overall so far. On behalf of the board and our institutional shareholders, we congratulate the team on this 5-year milestone.” Says Dale Ponder, Chair of CBGF. The team at CBGF is looking forward to continuing to broaden its impact over the next five years as they continue on their mission of filling the growth capital gap in Canada, which remains significant.

CBGF is supported by Canada’s leading banks and insurance companies including BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, TD Bank, ATB, Canada Life, HSBC Bank Canada, Manulife, National Bank, Sun Life, Canadian Western Bank and Laurentian Bank.